VISITING BOSTON Part I

This weekend hundreds of thousands of visitors pour into town for the prestigious Boston Marathon. Meanwhile, locals will celebrate Patriot's Day, which marks "the shot heard 'round the world". I am usually there early in the morning as the streets are shut down and a lone rider gallops the pavement (watch those potholes) to reenact the ride of Paul Revere including his stop at a local tavern once located practically right by my front door.

Now that I'm working with nextstop.com on my guide to dining out and foodie things to do in Boston I thought I really should be writing about it in my very own blog. I always know when it is Spring here as my emails increase drastically, pretty much all from readers visiting Boston looking for great places to dine and other foodie must-dos while here. I usually respond individually (which I am always up for) but decided to begin another series of posts on VISITING BOSTON. Add this to the SIMPLE INTERVIEW series (more of which are coming, including a nice celebrity chef interview we snagged exclusively) and the AMUSE BOUCHE series, which is a continual work in progress.


One direction you could take from Panera - Boston Harbor.

The first place most travellers will look for to start the day is a breakfast spot with fresh, affordable choices. While usually not one to recommend a chain restaurant I can heartily do so with Panera Bread. All of the breads, rolls and pastries are made fresh locally and the coffee is great. The location of this one I've found for you is perfect and the price is right, far below the outrageous hotel coffee shops. And for the techies it also offers free wifi! Extremely popular with business persons during the week, it is almost empty on weekends, tucked in on a side street off the touristic path. A window seat will give you a view of Boston Harbor or the Rose Kennedy Greenway and it is within walking distance of some of the best parts of the city: Harbor Walk and the Ft. Point Channel area (teeming with the city's newest restaurants), the impressive Institute of Contemporary Art, opened just a few years back, the North End (think hipster meets old school Italiano), Quincy Market (good food options despite the touristy prices) Boston Common and The Freedom Trail (where it all began).


Out the front door puts you directly on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

This is really an ideal place to begin your weekend in Boston and the kind of hidden gem you would never find on your own. Locals may not realize that Panera Bread is a popular offshoot of Au Bon Pain, long famous for their locally baked goods and quality foods for breakfast and lunch. The TBF fave: asiago cheese bagel.

Panera Bread
200 High Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
(617) 951-1330 | phone
(617) 951-1338 | fax