Woodward at the Ames Hotel - YUP!

Woodward
1 Court Street
Boston, MA

http://www.woodwardatames.com/

When you walk into a bar and eye a bartender dispensing a foam into a champagne glass, you know you're not at typical Bostonian pub.  Woodward, located within the Ames Hotel, is a chic and above average experience that will make a lasting impression. 

On a Saturday evening, around 10 pm, you can find the downstairs bar packed with diners at tables and at the U shaped bar. But you can still find a table with minimal wait.  There are also "communal tables" for those that just want to have a drink and a place to rest their elbows.

Upstairs are a few more tables for dining, another bar and a fireplace seating area, which is first come first served.  You will also find a DJ playing very intoxicating old school hip-hop and rap.  I'm a sucker for this, as you may know.  A little "Good Day" goes a long way for this blogger.  This is where I decided to steak my claim until my friends appeared on scene. 

While sitting at the bar solo, for the time being, I had a nice view of the crowd, the bartenders and the NCAA Kentucky/UConn game.  Not bad.  I was so comfortable in this high top chair at the bar, that had arms and a nice cushion.  I wouldn't have minded sitting there all night.  And the bartenders were so prompt that I'd be golden.  It took forever to decide on a drink.  The drink menu is so unique and abundant. 

http://www.woodwardatames.com/library/pdfs/AMES_WW%20MENU_Cocktails_pages.pdf

I chose to start off with the Second Marriage, a drink that consists of Ketel One Citroen, Chandon Brut and fresh raspberry puree (All fruits and herbs at Woodward are fresh.).  My bartender complimented my choice and I realized why within one sip.  The cocktail was sour and rich and tasted like a bubbly slush.  It instantly reminded me of summertime.  It was hard to just sip this one.

Later I made friends with a nice gal named Olivia, from Chicago, imbibing solo, as well.  She was in town to do a photo shoot and just having herself a little entertainment.  We got to chatting and I noticed she was the gal who had ordered the drink in the champagne glass with the mysterious foam.  Luckily this was a menu item!

The Model Behavior, to call it by name, was fantastic.  St Germain & Hendrick's gin, Chandon Brut and CUCUMBER foam.  Now this is coming from a gal who does not like gin...This is one of the best cocktail creations I've ever consumed.  I didn't even know there was gin in this until I went back to re-read the menu.  Olivia felt that in the champagne glass the foam got lost and underplayed.  She kindly (she's from Chicago) insisted the bartender pour out the drink in a glass with a...ahem...larger mouth.  And he did. 

It was around this time that Olivia and I got to some serious chatting when a man came over to ask for the bar nuts that were in front of me.  And then he proceeded to offer me the nuts.  I told him I was allergic.

Later my party arrived and we grabbed a long table by the fireplace, very close to the DJ.  It was a little louder than we would have liked, but the music was too good to complain.  And now that the friends had arrived I could finally order the drink I'd been waiting for all weekend (You know me and my pre-outing research.).

The Pickle Back - Imagine in your own mind, if you will, what this would include.  A drink called the Pickle Back.  Take a few minutes and get your imagination going....Ok, ready?

When you see a drink like this on the menu, you may turn your nose up.  Me?  I go for it.  It's insane!  So, true to form, I ordered the Pickle Back: A shot of Jameson with YOUR CHOICE of house made pickle brine chasers.  Your choices: Bread & Butter Pickle, Yellow Beet, Red Pearl Onion, Carrot, Cauliflower or Grape.  Have you ever heard of something like this?  If so, please share, because I have not. 

Ultimately I thought I would be partaking in this shot/chaser combo on my own.  However, I was pleased that my pal Sue was all in to take one down with me.  For chasers I chose the Yellow Beet, Sue the Bread & Butter.  We partook on a count of 3 and hoped for the best.  The Jameson we knew, we respected...it was the brine chaser that seemed daunting.

In the end, the Yellow Beet seemed to favor over the Bread & Butter.  Both were manageable drinks and not as intimidating as they would appear.  We really were the boss of those shots.  And since this is not something you have everyday, why not go for it?  I highly suggest it.  In the future, I will order this again, perhaps trying out the Grape or Carrot chaser (I will stick to the sweet ones).

Eventually the drinks stopped because the dancing started.  The music was contagious and the dancing was infectious.  Every single person upstairs was dancing.  It was great fun.

Note the website, included up top, to take a virtual tour of Woodward.  Their white walls and shelves create a very open environment.  You feel very cozy in such a hip venue.

Next time - the shot will be ordered and food will be consumed.  Woodward is a huge hit for me and highly suggest you put on your cutest outfit and head over there soon.


Blog Bonus: We ate there!

Hey again, 'buds!  You've got it.  Sister and I popped into Woodward sometime after 11pm last Thursday, after a hysterical evening @ the Improv Asylum (Hanover St - North End. Go.).  We were frantically famished and in the mood for something good.  Luckily, Woodward serves food up until 12am on week nights.  Such a bonus.  To all other spots in town: Keep your kitchens open later, people!!!  Even if it is a select menu.

What we learned that now that Woodward's drink menu has recently rotated.  The Model Behavior is no longer listed (see original blog above) but they still had their Second Marriage.  YUM!  And it WAS better the second time.

We decided to share some food.  To start, we inhaled the Warm Beet & VBC Goat Cheese tart w/ Meyer lemon curd & Hazlenuts.  So incredible.  It was a delicious pastry with red and golden beets.  The cheese and the curd were fanctastic.  It tasted like dessert.  We destroyed the thing.  I believe I dropped my forks a few times while attacking the poor tarte. 

For our late night dinner we shared the Spring pea & lemon Risotto w/ pean greens and parmesean.  Again, incredible.  Super lemony and summery.  Not too hot.  It was like an outdoorsy, picnic style risotto.  We cleaned the dish out.  Not a grain left in sight.

Let this be your lesson.  It's good to eat after a night of laughs and buckets o' beer at the Improv.  And luckily, Woodward is smart enough to keep those kitchen doors open for us late night gigglers. 

*Bonus bonus: The kitchen is open until 1am on weekends.  C'mon!  Total score.

South End Buttery...in the South End, surprisingly

I'm not usually one who usually speaks her mind...(hahahaha!)  But these are the best damn cupcakes I have ever eaten.

The South End Buttery is a cutie little place on Shawmut Ave in the S. End of Boston that I found on a whim.  Over a year ago I wanted to buy a treat to bring to a welcome-home outing for our friend and hero, Greg, who was just coming home from Iraq.  It had to be something easy to transport and pleasing to many people.  So I did a Google search for cupcakes in the Boston area.  And yes, Johnny Cupcakes did come up in the search, and no I did not get fooled.

After much stalking and deep thought, I settled on the Buttery because I liked what they had to offer.  There is always 4 standard flavors avaiable: Vanilla, Red Velvet, Carrot Cake and Chocolate.  I got all 4 of these, but I also ordered 2 specialty flavors.  The Strawberry Shortcake and the Lemon-Raspberry. 

Can I just tell you something?  That was the best decision I have ever made in my life...or at least tied with the decision to move into the city, so I am now a mere 10 minute T ride away from the Buttery!!!

Of course the 4 standards were a hit.  You cannot go wrong with those classics.  The carrot cake and the red velvet both had the cream cheese frostings...but it tasted like cream cheese flavored whipped cream, which in my book is a great plot twist.  It was very unexpected but entirely welcome, as frosting is not one of my most favorites things (but neither is schnitzel with noodles).  And if I am not mistaken...we were wearing most of the frosting by the end of the night, rather than eating.  Hey, what welcome home party is not complete without a food fight in a public, crowded bar?

Moving on to the Speciality flavors.  The likes of these have to be ordered in advance and are not available at walk-in.  Again, it was the best decision I ever made to order these cupcakes.  The shortcake and the lemon-rasp are tied for first place as my favorites.  The cake was fluffy and elves were the size of a softball.  For the shortcake, the frosting was that light whipped cream, which was slightly vanilla flavored.  The same goes for lemon-rasp, but the whipped cream was slightly lemon flavored.  Amazing.  Really.  Top notch.

Recently, Boyfriend (who has now been upgraded to Roomie) and I took a nice city stroll over to the Buttery to get some treats.  He got the carrot cake and I, the red velvet.  The frosting and cake were as good as we remembered.  We even got stopped on the street by strangers to ask where we got our snackies.  When we mentioned the Buttery, they just nodded and said, "Oh yeah.", as if there couldn't be another place in the world making such yumness.

I highly suggest making a special trip for these or ordering them for your next event.  See their website for more Specialty cupcakes. 

Have your cupcakes and eat 'em, too, people!  Enjoy!  Me and my 'buds always do.