Tag Archives: Boston Guy

Restaurant Review: Ten Tables

Ten Tables has three locations; the newest opening earlier this year in Provincetown. Located near the center of town off Bradford Street, the Provincetown restaurant has more seating than its name would lead you to believe. There is a beautiful patio, a gregarious bar and two floors of dining in this cutely converted home.

For those unfamiliar with the Ten Tables philosophy, the restaurants maintain a smaller menu that is based upon handmade foods from home grown and local ingredients. You can read more about their philosophy on there website here.

Ten Tables offers vacationers another excellent dinner option and lives up to the reputation of its sister-restaurants back in Boston and Cambridge. Dinner for two, each having an appetizer, main course and sharing a dessert (not including drinks or tip) will cost $80-$90. First plates range in price from $9-$16; main dishes range in price from $21-$33; with desserts ranging from $9-$12. Diners can order from a full bar that includes some interesting selection of wines and locally brewed beers. I believe there is a separate bar menu on the second floor, but I did not have a chance to view this.

Our meal started with fresh lobster meat served on a bed of fennel and grapefruit flavored with pistachios and coriander as well as a cucumber gazpacho with thinly sliced apples and minced almonds. Both appetizers were extremely flavorful, but the lobster combined with the fresh citrus was so good I’m still obsessing over it.

First plates: Lobster $16 / Gazpacho $9

Our main plates soon arrived after our first course was cleared. We had ordered the striped bass plate which came with pancetta, frisee, potatoes and sauce, as well as handmade cavatelli with wild greens and sauce. The fish was cooked perfectly and the pancetta and sauce added so much flavor my partner who doesn’t eat fish couldn’t get enough. While the pasta was tasty and a good pick, it could not compare to the striped bass.

Main courses: Cavatelli $21 / Sea Bass $27

Although I was more than satisfied, for the sake of this review I soldiered on and we both ordered desserts including a chocolate terrine with vanilla ice cream and half of a peach slowly baked with crumble and vanilla ice cream. Both were beyond decadent and capped one of my more memorable dinners.

Desserts: Baked Peach Crumble / Chocolate Terrine

Ten Tables Locations:
133 Bradford Street, Provincetown (508) 487-0106
5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge (617) 576-5444 – Original location
597 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain (617) 524-8810                                                Reservations are strongly recommended for all locations.

Warren Buffett editorial in the NYT

Its been awhile since I’ve included a political rant, but an OpEd from Warren Buffett in Sunday’s NYT Stop Coddling the Super Rich got me all fired up again. He starts his editorial saying,

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.”
Mr. Buffet’s editorial is well timed, coming on the heels of more political posturing than honest discussion and legitimate compromise, regarding raising the US debt ceiling and deficit reduction talks. Buffett points out that his tax rate last year was 17.4% (half the tax rate of the other 20 people in his office), and that the “super rich” now pay less than they ever have, despite benefiting from a system that has allowed them to reap record salaries, bonuses and perks. However, I don’t believe Buffett’s editorial is likely to budge an increasingly intransigent Congress, nor foster debate and dialog about his suggestion to raise taxes on the “super rich” with the newly appointed bipartisan Committee of 12.
Looking at the current list of Republican Presidential hopefuls, I wonder if they can even fathom his logic of what “Shared Sacrifice” really means. You can read Warren Buffett’s editorial in its entirety here and decide for yourself.

Men of Twitter

Each Monday I post #MenOfTwitter profiles of men who catch my eye and whom I think you may enjoy following. As always, suggestions for profiles to feature are welcome.  If you’d like to follow me on twitter, you can find me @BosGuy. Below are this week’s #MenOfTwitter. Leave them a nice comment and start following these guys.

ChristopherFTL – Chris is a native Californian who has an unapologetic Liberal bent to most of his tweets. He also has a blog, From the left, which I like reading. I actually found out from Chris’ tweets that a CEO of a Boston-based sneaker company donated $500k to Romney’s presidential campaign. #NotCool is right Chris.

DavidGanhao – David is yet another example of how handsome Boston can be. Mix that in with his very funny tweets and he’s an obvious choice.A recent tweet of his – which I can relate to: “Twitter suggested I follow Bon Apetit magazine, so basically twitter just called me a fatass. #bigboned”#TooFunny

Naoij – Vincent lives in London and is a twitter-holic. He’s posted nearly 25K tweets, which are mostly conversational with the occasional, picture, quote or video included. He recently moved into a new “flat” so if you follow him – ask him how his move went. He’s currently looking for a flatmate so give him a holler if you’re looking for a place to call home in London. #SoHandsome

BTW if you like this post, retweet it. If you love this post, follow me, @BosGuy.  Link here to see past #MenOfTwitter postings.

Cheers from Provincetown

I arrived in Provincetown on Saturday enjoying what turned out to be the last bit of sun we will see for a few days. Today was mostly overcast albeit very comfortable. Everyone seemed to use the break from the good weather we’ve been enjoying to shop. Commercial Street was packed from one end to the next with people carrying shopping bags overflowing with items (so much for there being a recession).

This afternoon I purchased tickets to see Ryan Landry’s play Peter Pansy for Tuesday evening. I first wrote about Ryan’s latest musical back in April when it opened in Boston. If interested, you can read more about the storyline here.

If one is to believe the local forecast the weather will unfortunately remain fairly ugly, but will clear by Wednesday with the brightest and warmest day of the week on Thursday when the big parade and most of the celebrations for Carnival Week occur.

The photo above is of Sergio and one of the many helpful young men distributing rum test tube shots at the Boatslip Tea Dance this afternoon.

Zipcar Low-Car Diet Update

Carnival Week in Provincetown 13-Aug to 20-Aug

I am in a Ptown state of mind…

In just a few hours I’ll be heading down to Provincetown for Carnival Week. I think many guys from Boston think of this week in Ptown as Boston’s unofficial Pride. Sadly, as much as I love Boston, our city’s Pride celebration is unbelievably boring.

Carnival brings a big city feel to this tiny little village at the tip of the Cape. Its not as risque as many of the marquee circuit events or major pride celebrations, but it’s PG-13 rating doesn’t detract from all the fun one bit.

So my next few postings will be coming from Provincetown. Should you happen to be there as well, leave a comment and we can try to meet for a drink. Here are some pictures from 2010 Provincetown Carnival Parade.

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow

NYC Underwear Run

Fellow blogger over at DanNation included a write-up about NYC’s 1.7 mile “Underwear Run”, which took place last week (August 5th) in Central Park. The run drew a bit more than 500 participants. You can read his posting, here and you can check out the YT video from this year’s event here.

However, I have to say it seems pretty lame that there were only 500 runners. C’mon NYC, where is your sense of adventure? Boston’s annual Santa Speedo Run in December (which is capped at 500) sells out in minutes.

An underwear run in Central Park in August actually sounds delightful. I’d even do the run if I lived in NYC. I hope next year a few more of you will check your modesty at the door and participate in what looks like a very fun run.

Here’s the video from the 2010 Boston Santa Speedo Run.


Achoo…

What a rather unique tissue dispenser.

Pictures from NYC

Here are some random pictures from my trip to New York City last weekend. LinkI loved this vintage Leather Daddy photo. Its reminiscent of Tom of Finland don’t you think? I saw this in a leather shop down in the West Village.

This giant sculpture entitled “Echo” was created by Spanish sculpture, Jaume Plensa and is on display in the Madison Square Park on Madison Avenue and 23rd Street. The oversized sculpture is hard to miss and evoked strong reactions by everyone I saw while I was there.

I’m a man of refined taste and extremely cultured so of course I went to one of New York’s premiere museums…well actually I only went to the gift shop – I was pressed for time.

Hmm… you know you’re really pretty gay when you find yourself walking down a street in New York City, look up and think, “So that’s where all those designers go with Tim Gunn.

I’ve always loved the Fuller Building which was first completed back in 1902. The building also referred to as the Flatiron Building is another example of the amazing architecture NYC offers.

Hotel review: The Strand Hotel NYC

The Strand Hotel has a trendy vibe, which only makes sense since its nestled in the heart of New York City’s Fashion District; located between 5th and 6th Ave on 37th Street.

The tiny lobby exudes a sense of style that carries through to the hotel room and it’s furnishings. Although the rooms are tight, they are well appointed and suited my needs just fine.

Aside from the location, the thing I enjoyed the most about staying at The Strand NYC was its roof deck terrace and bar. (That’s me and my buddy Paul enjoying a cold beer on the roof deck bar.)

Drinks cost a small fortune, but when you factor in the amazing view and the beautiful weather which made it so pleasant to sit outside – I couldn’t get enough of the place.

I’ve included a picture of my tiny room and bathroom. You can click on the photo to enlarge. More pictures appear on my hotel review on TripAdvisor.com.

For more information about this hotel you can visit: www.thestrandnyc.com

My favorite bars in Boston’s South End

Here are a few of my favorite South End bars. Although this is not an exhaustive list (nor is it in any particular order), should you find yourself in my neighborhood on any given evening, there is a strong likelihood you’d find me at one of these fine establishments.

Sister Sorel This tiny shoebox of a bar is equal parts shabby and gabby. People congregating around the tiny bar and tapered candles and easily strike up conversation. The drinks here are great and the bar staff is very friendly. You can follow Sister Sorel on twitter thru the head chef and own at twitter.com/AndyHusbands.

Fritz This is the only gay bar on my list, although all these places draw a very mixed crowd. This sports bar is perfect for watching a game or just enjoying some afternoon drinks since it is one of the few places I’ve included that has large windows open to the street. I love their bloody mary’s on the weekends; otherwise I stick to beer at Fritz. You can “like” them on FB here.

28 Degrees Named after the ideal temperature to serve a martini this is one of the neighborhood’s premiere lounges. I have to say, I’m not a fan of their olives (I’ve never actually met an olive I didn’t like til 28 degrees), but I love everything else about the place. If its nice out, grab some cocktails and nibble on apps on their comfy patio. Follow on twitter at, 28degreesBoston.

Noche I prefer to go on Thursday nights when many guys from the n’hood are likely to stop by. Andy is the very friendly bar tender and he makes a mean dirty martini. I know that my friend Sean disapproves of the stemware, but I overlook it for the company and Plymouth Gin they pour so freely. They too are on twitter at, NocheBoston.

Stella Just down Washington Street, this restaurant always attracts a crowd. I’m partial to the bar at the back of the restaurant which is open on weekends. Stella is great if you have a melange of drinkers; beer lovers, wine connoisseurs and cocktail aficionados can all drink in harmony here. You can “like” them on FB here.

Franklin Cafe Dimly lit and often times loud, I grabbed dinner at this neighborhood mainstay for the first time in over a year and got to chatting with the extremely handsome bartender, Scott, who only works on Wednesdays. Considering I’m now planning to make this a somewhat regular pit stop (yeah – I’m that shallow), I wanted to be sure to include them on my list of places. Active on twitter, you can follow them at, FranklinCafe.

South End neighborhood bars I still miss (may they R.I.P.)

Pho Republique – I still wimper at the loss of this funky enclave and wish it would return.

Rocca – In the end your menu drove me away, but your lounge was simply the best the South End had to offer and I miss my after work cocktails and your hip-n-handsome staff.

The Waltham Tavern – I’m joking… just curious if any locals bothered to read the entire post!

Google, Matthew Epstein wants you to hire him

Its no secret that a lot of very talented people are currently looking for work. It also doesn’t take a rocket scientist for people to recognize that half the game is being able to differentiate yourself from others. However, there is a very fine line between thinking outside-the-box and creatively identifying ways to get the attention of a potential employer.

Matthew Epstein appears to understands how to walk that fine line with his website http://www.googlepleasehire.me/ and video. Together I think they are equal parts genious and hilarious. Tailored perfectly to Google’s quirky personality but professional enough to warrant a closer look, it appears that Matthew’s request for “one phone call and 15 minutes” of Google’s time has paid off (sort of). Google did contact Matthew but asked him to go through the standard hiring process, which apparently he’s fine with doing.

Who knows how this might end, but I’m cheering on Matthew and the millions of others out there right now looking for work.



Thanks Tim for sharing this with me.

Hanging with the bears

Just a lil old picture of me cuddling with a couple of bears that were sitting outside next door to the hotel I was staying at when I was visiting NYC. I have to say, they were very friendly but more of the strong silent type.

Men of Twitter

Each Monday I post #MenOfTwitter profiles of men who catch my eye and whom I think you may enjoy following. As always, suggestions for profiles to feature are welcome.  If you’d like to follow me on twitter, you can find me @BosGuy. Below are this week’s #MenOfTwitter. Leave them a nice comment and start following these guys.

Hairymodelwanab – I started following Paul at the start of summer.This Brit has more than a killer body. He’s also very playful on Twitter and easy to communicate with.His flirtatious nature will keep you coming back for more #Promise

Nickos_00 – Nick is the 1st Caribbean guy I think I’ve profiled.Although his profile makes no mention of it, he’s rather sweet and a runner.As much as I like his current profile pic (and who wouldn’t), I’d love to see a shirtless image on his twitter account #FingersCrossed

BennMendoza is one of the more interesting characters I follow on Twitter. He’s part aerial performer, part acrobatic, part circus entertainer and all parts amazing.His website also features some amazing photos of his performances, www.bennmendoza.com#Wow

BTW if you like this post, retweet it. If you love this post, follow me, @BosGuy. Link here to see past #MenOfTwitter postings.

Finding a bit of heaven in Hell’s Kitchen

I arrived in NYC on Friday with my buddy Paul for a fun weekend in the city. We took the Acela from Amtrak down to the city and arrived in plenty of time to enjoy Boxers, crazy happy hour festivities.

Bars are not allowed to have happy hour promotions in Massachusetts so true to form we drank more than intended and left pleasantly buzzed with plans to head out to Hell’s Kitchen after a quick pit stop back at the hotel to freshen up and a quick bite to eat.

We’d both been to Hell’s Kitchen but it had been several years (at least for me since my previous visit). One of the things I really like about the neighborhood is how easy it is to bar hop. We started by checking out Industry. It was one of the busier bars we visited and the music was great, but neither Paul nor I were feeling it so we walked across the street to Therapy. However, Therapy was fairly dead by comparison so we opted to head over to Ritz.

Entering Ritz would make just about anyone feel claustrophobic but of all the places, this had the most energy and the by far – the best people watching. We worked our way to the back room and danced up along the walls.

Paul and I spent most of the evening watching a young couple “get familiar” with each other, some A-List wannabes with killer bodies shake their groove thing and chatting with people to our left and right – there always seemed to be a constant ebb and flow that brought a new someone every 5-10 minutes.

There are plenty of other bars all close by and when visiting its so easy to bar hop its enough to make my head spin. What bars in HK do you like and why? Leave a comment to share because I’m hoping I can head back soon.