OT... Any “must do’s” in the New England states?

shtgunal3

This Alabama boy is headed to Boston to catch a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do and it’s finally going to happen. I’ve never been in that part of the country and am very much looking forward to it. My brother and I (he lives in Colorado and is meeting me there) will be there from the 9th to the 13th.  We plan to visit all of the New England states while up there. So, back to my original question, any must see’s/do’s? Any places I must eat? This may be my one and only chance.

pgprescott

I love little Italy in Boston. Lots of great stuff right there in Boston and Cambridge area. Enjoy Fenway! Seventh inning stretch will give you goose bumps. 

shtgunal3

@pgprescott I have been a Boston fan since I was a little kid collecting baseball cards. My favorite player was Wade Boggs. I can’t wait to hear Sweet Caroline in the 7th. 

Botch

Get a local recommendation for a lobster shack, pref with picnic tables covered with newspapers inside, and order a lobster boil.    

CTMike

So many great places to see and things to do. The coast of Maine for lobster rolls, drive to the top of Mt Washington in NH, Provincetown in Mass, Italian restaurants on Federal Hill in Providence, shopping/dining in Mystic, CT, Burlington, VT is a great town. Two of the largest casinos in the country are located within 5 miles of my house - Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Both have great gambling, restaurants, big name performers, etc. 

CTMike

Oh, and go Boston. Seeing a game at Fenway is a magical experience. Arrive early and get some brews at Boston Beer Works (pre-game) before going in to the park. 

JohnEggGio

shtgunal3 said:

@pgprescott I have been a Boston fan since I was a little kid collecting baseball cards. My favorite player was Wade Boggs. I can’t wait to hear Sweet Caroline in the 7th. 

When I was a kid, Yaz was one of my favorites.  In Boston, take a walk in The Common and Public Garden - hit  the North End for Italian food.  But, in general, if I were taking your trip I’d be all about lobster and fried clams.  No BBQ!

JohnInCarolina

ME, NH, MA, CT, RI, VT.  

You have six states but five days.  

Forget about CT.

Profit.

dmchicago

If you're an oyster fan, hit Neptune Oyster.

Go early and put your name on the list. They will call you and you have 15 minutes to claim your seat.

Incredible selection of oysters and an amazing warm lobster roll.

Then walk around until you can eat again and grab a cannoli at Mike's or Modern pastry.

Enjoy...great city.

Botch

CTMike said:

So many great places to see and things to do. The coast of Maine for lobster rolls.... 

I've heard they have the second-best lobster rolls in the world!  
 
https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/food/2018/04/17/freshies-the-park-city-restaurant-that-makes-the-worlds-best-lobster-rolls-will-open-a-second-shop-in-salt-lake-city/
 
(this is a once-in-a-millenium occurrence, so I gotta milk it!  )

abpgwolf

Eat dinner in the North End, then dessert at Mike's Pastries. No better ballpark than Fenway 

CornfedMA

Can’t go wrong with any of these.

Boston- the North End and Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. The saying the in the North End is dinner in Salem St and desert in Hanover. Mike’s is awesome and also cash only. Around Fenway, you can hit Beer Works or Cask N Flagon for the old school, authentic, pregame experience. Yard House is good too. 

Maine- go to Portland. Fore St, Street and Co., Maps, Duck Fat, and many more. Truly a foodie’s city. 

NH- hit the Sea Coast. Portsmouth is an old seaport w/ plenty of great food and booze. 

VT- Burlington is a great town. Hit Church St. More bars and restaurants per square mile than just about anywhere in the country. 

CornfedMA

Oh and on your way to NH and Maine, hit Woodman’s and Fatnham’s in Essex. Apparently Woodman’s invented the fried whole belly
clam and Farmham’s is just damn good. 

JohnInCarolina

CornfedMA said:

Can’t go wrong with any of these.

Boston- the North End and Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market. The saying the in the North End is dinner in Salem St and desert in Hanover. Mike’s is awesome and also cash only. Around Fenway, you can hit Beer Works or Cask N Flagon for the old school, authentic, pregame experience. Yard House is good too. 

Maine- go to Portland. Fore St, Street and Co., Maps, Duck Fat, and many more. Truly a foodie’s city. 

NH- hit the Sea Coast. Portsmouth is an old seaport w/ plenty of great food and booze. 

VT- Burlington is a great town. Hit Church St. More bars and restaurants per square mile than just about anywhere in the country. 

As a New England native, these are some really great recs here.  You could do a heckofa lot worse than to hit those spots and cities.

WeberWho

shtgunal3 said:

@pgprescott I have been a Boston fan since I was a little kid collecting baseball cards. My favorite player was Wade Boggs. I can’t wait to hear Sweet Caroline in the 7th. 

How fun!

If you haven't seen the Wade Boggs Always Sunny In Philadelphia episode it's worth tracking down. Especially if you're a Boggs fan

https://youtu.be/dFzU_rgDkv0

shtgunal3

Thanks for all of the recommendations. I feel it’s going to be a busy but fun week.

thetrim

All these Fans of Fenway have obviously not watched a game at Tropicana Field.  

Surveyor_Egg

Lot of good recommendations above.  If you want good clam chowder in Boston hit the Fours on Canal Street near the Garden. Quick ride from there to Fenway on the green line.

North end for Italian food has lots of options.  Pizzeria Regina is one of my favorites there  Water fire in providence RI is fairly popular these days but I haven't seen it yet myself.  Some good restaurants near the canal down there if chasing some good food. 

Trying to hit all those states in 5 days will be tough.  I recommend a few in the Boston area.  Freedom trail has a lot of good stops and would take maybe half a day of time to run through.  Lot of different possibilities from beaches to museums depending on what you like to do as well.

Have fun!

JohnInCarolina

thetrim said:

All these Fans of Fenway have obviously not watched a game at Tropicana Field.  

In fairness, nobody else really seems to either:



That looks like the crowd for a girls club gymnastics meet, not a professional baseball game.  

northGAcock

Watching Jackie Bradly Jr. (JBJ) play center field could be the highlight of your trip! 

northGAcock

Surveyor_Egg said:

North end for Italian food has lots of options.  Pizzeria Regina is one of my favorites 

This.

Acn

Have a great time at Fenway, it really is a great park and experience.

Beyond that - I think trying to hit all 6 New England states in 5 days is super ambitious and will lead to a lot of time spent in cars that might be better spent in another way.  I concur with JIC - just skip CT completely.  I'd probably also skip RI and unfortunately VT and focus on MA, NH, ME.

For recommendations, there are a bunch of good ones above, but I'd ask what you're most interested in?  Is it eating/drinking?  If that is the case I'd probably stick to Boston and Portland, maybe adding in Providence.  Burlington is great, but I'd definitely suggest Portland above that, and unfortunately there aren't any great E/W routes in Northern New England.  In addition to the Portland suggestions above, I'd add Eventide for oysters (and a quick google says that they have opened an Eventide near Fenway on Boylston St.) and Central Provisions, Becky's Diner for breakfast, and Standard Baking for bread/pastry anytime.  The Allagash tour is great.

If you are more into an outdoors type trip, I'd suggest the White Mountains in NH, and even though it is cliche, go to the top of Mount Washington, they have the most extreme weather in the world.  For true wilderness, Western Maine is great - Baxter State Park has Mt Khatadin, which is the northern end of the Appalachian Trail.  You could also just go to the Forks, Moxie Falls is one of the highest waterfalls in New England and there are plenty of companies that will do rafting on the Kennebec river, and then Moosehead Lake is very close.

The coast of Maine is amazing, and deserves all the accolades it gets.  If you go that way I'd hit Boothbay Harbor and the Camden/Rockland area (my favorite spot along the coast).  Primo in Rockland is a great restaurant, although it might be tough to get reservations this close.  Acadia National Park is a great final point, with your schedule I'm not sure that it makes sense to go past that.

thetrim

JohnInCarolina said:

thetrim said:

All these Fans of Fenway have obviously not watched a game at Tropicana Field.  

In fairness, nobody else really seems to either:



That looks like the crowd for a girls club gymnastics meet, not a professional baseball game.  

And half of them are actively rooting for the visiting team.  What a joke.  I've been to a pretty high percentage of current MLB ballparks.  Sadly, Fenway isn't one of them.  As bad as the Trop is now, it was way worse before the new ownership group took over in 2005.

CigarCityEgger

The Trop, it’s a dump. But it’s our dump!

Only other MLB stadium I’ve been to is the Nationals and it blew me away. Can’t wait til they build a new stadium. Fenway is on the bucket list

CigarCityEgger

Worst part about this year is they took out the Cigar bar. Hoping they correct that with the new build 

SemolinaPilchard

The tour of Fenway was pretty cool. If you are a history buff, the Old North Church is worth it. 

bo31210

If you are a book buff make sure to check out the Boston Public Library  Impressive in its own right

thetrim

CigarCityEgger said:

The Trop, it’s a dump. But it’s our dump!

Only other MLB stadium I’ve been to is the Nationals and it blew me away. Can’t wait til they build a new stadium. Fenway is on the bucket list

The Marlins have an equally poor fan base, but they have a great stadium too!

ColtsFan

Deflate footballs? I hear that's fun

Cornholio

I went to college in Boston and lived in the North End, hit up Giacomo’s for some good casual Italian but so many others that are great in the area too.  Pizzeria Regina’s is a famous spot and like someone mentioned there is Mike’s Pastries but also another pastry shop on Hanover street called Modern Pastry.  Gotta check out Faneuil Hall and walk through Boston Common (mini Central Park kind of).  Harvard Square is cool to check out as well.  Been 13 years since I lived there so I am sure there a lot of new hot spots but you gotta check out the classics like Ye Olde Oyster House and Bell in Hand Tavern..  also another Tavern called the Green Dragon which was a meeting spot for the countries founding fathers.  

Foghorn

Go to Allagash brewery in Portland. Have the Curieaux. Trust me. 

You’re welcome.