Harvard Square & Beyond

Last night, four of the NLM crew (Jay, Brian, Gavin & I) made our separate ways to Harvard Square for dinner and a few beers.

I met Jay at the T-stop, and we headed over to John Harvard's to wait for Brian, and have a beer. We were there for all of an hour, but in that time we had a couple of their fine IPA's, saw on the tv that Michael Jackson had fallen into a coma, and then that he subsequently passed away. It was surreal (and sudden), and the mood in the bar was mostly somber.

We headed over to Bartley's Burgers (the main point of the evening's trek to Boston) to wait for Gavin to get out of work and meet us there for dinner. After no wait at all (unusual, I am told), we got crammed into our booth, caught up on events in each others' lives, and discussed potential destinations for our annual fall trip. When the food arrived, everyone dug in, and while the "John Kerry" (swiss & mushroom burger) wasn't the best I've ever had (in Boston, let alone the world), it was pretty damned good. And the fries were amazing! Was it because they were truly legendary, or because I hadn't had french fries in months? A future trip will have to answer that question...

It was still early, so we headed to the nearby Hong Kong Restaurant's second floor lounge to have a couple more beers (I had 2 Long Trail Ales, a new favorite) and watch the rest of the Red Sox game (which they lost). It was pretty dead, but for most of our visit, the bar was tended by an incredibly hot brunette in a red & white summer dress named Jessica. After we chatted with her for a little bit, she left, to be replaced by some big burly guy and his 3 clone friends sitting at the other end of the bar. The very definition of LAME MINUS!! Who would ever trade a filet mignon for a platter of 4 sausages? Weak. So Jay headed home, Gavin left after another beer, and then Brian & I headed for the T back to Alewife after a stop at the local Newbury Comics to pick up copies of the new Pete Yorn cd (I already have 2 tickets to his July 26th show @ The House of Blues).

On the ride back to Alewife, after some hemming & hawing (he hemmed, I hawed) Brian & I finally determined that we weren't ready to call it a night (surprisingly, it was only 9:30). So we jumped into his new car and drove into Boston. We parked across the street from the old Tower Records (where the lame Best Buy has taken over the space), and hoofed it to The Cactus Club, a fun bar we'd been to in the past, both together (New Year's Eve/Day 2001/02) and separately. We walked up to the bar just as some dude shattered his big margarita glass all over the floor, and promptly proceded to wend our way to the opposite side to get our beers (I opted for my first of three Harpoon IPAs, he had a Sam's Summer). After a bit of mingling and moving around, we settled at the bar next to a woman who'd been checking Brian out pretty steadily from across the way. While they got to know each other, I contented myself with a mix of watching the various beautiful women walk by on the sidewalk outside the bay window, SportsCenter, and parts of the Sox game I missed earlier.

At 12:15, Brian indicated that he would like to walk her to her car, and he'd "be right back". I was fine with my ice water and the scenery, so he left with his new friend. After twenty minutes or so, I went to the rest room, and then went outside to wait for his return. There was a patio chair to the left of the entrance, so I settled there to wait, and enjoy the cool Boston night air. It was quite peaceful, even the loud (and talented) street drummer, who added the perfect soundtrack to my people watching, as the Prudential Building loomed overhead, its lights slowly winking out one by one as the hours passed. Okay, it wasn't 'hours', only 90 minutes, and it was quite enjoyable, talking to passersby, and observing the city late at night from such a cool vantage point. Brian got back to the bar at 1:45, and we walked to the car, while he related events and his plan to meet her again next week. Sweet! Another successfully fun Thursday night is on the Not Lame Minus books... And we already have tentative plans to join the guys somewhere in the city again next Thursday!