Boston and I have taken our relationship to the next level. It’s not just about the excitement of new areas anymore; we’re close enough to know that I love the city not just on face value. I’m getting to know the individual parts that make up Boston, and I happened to appear on the scene just as the area of Seaport was beginning to reach for city district stardom.
The closest you’ve probably been to Seaport is when you first land in Boston, with the runway across the harbour. When I first saw it, I didn’t think it was the most attractive area. Way back when in the 1800s, it was simply mud. Glamour was not to be its strength, becoming a shipping area then host of abandoned carparks and warehouses. But this is Boston, and Seaport is kicking itself into gear to play with the big boys.
Alan, my American boyfriend, recently started working in Seaport so I was given a… riveting tour of his office. What I couldn’t wait for was the tequila bar and restaurant, Temazcal. You feel as though you’re about to enter an exotic place, with a wooden arch leading the way to a shrine-like desk. I imagined it as one of those make-up desks (complete with mirror with elaborate detail framing it) in a Jane Austen novel. The addition of about 20-30 candles took up every inch of the furniture’s surface, enticingly all lit up despite being the middle of the day. So entrancing is the set up that each time I’ve walked in, I’ve forgotten I had to turn left at the end to get to the tequila. What tequila, even??
Oh, but the tequila. Never anywhere else have I been given an iPad to select my drink: the type of tequila, which cocktail and all the information inbetween the salt-rimmed glass and your mouth you could hope for. I highly recommend going in the day – you can have the whole length of the bar to yourself, staring at those intriguingly shaped bottles of alcohol. Or, if you’re Alan, watching the screen with the American Football game on.
If there’s one thing about Seaport now, it’s that you can’t get bored, full or thirsty. 75 on Liberty Wharf was another watering hole with a great selection of cocktails like the Spiced Pear Martini and The Heater (Whiskey, infused with cinnamon with cranberry and cinnamon syrup). Because these places are right by the sea, they’re designed to be light and airy. You never feel too far from the sound of the waves or that salty (slightly too windy) air – something I can only admire in disbelief.
Previously, I’ve been to Legal Seafoods – and also Legal Test Kitchen (LTK), where you get the brilliant task of trying out their concoctions. Don’t worry, this isn’t like going to a trainee hairdresser and it going disastrously wrong. This is the good stuff.
Oh, and FREE CHIPS AND DIPS
A short walk is the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), bringing a bit of culture on top of your overwhelmed palate. Aside from all this action, the wonderful thing about Seaport is that it still remains a bit of a secret. This being the case, remember on a warm and sunny day that this is Seaport, right on the harbour. Take a walk along it, watch the planes come in, observe the people enjoying the area more and more each day.
If you haven’t got it by now, keep your eyes on Seaport. It’s not the industrial or muddy mess it previously laid claim to, but a place to socialise and be close to the sea. Seaport is crafty, and I’m totally ok with it.
