A Weekend + Wrap Up

It was a busy weekend at the stores. Since it was a long weekend, people must have been itching to get out of the house. Not only were my shops kept busy but every time I went to a restaurant or anywhere, places seemed a bit more crowded than usual. It wasn't annoying it was more of an "oh look people!" thing.

Okay, so quite unexpectedly I got Sunday off! Yayayyayayayaya!!!! I was so excited. I decided I would take the day and do something I never get a chance to go. I wouldn't take the day and do my usual chores of laundry, gym, cleaning my apt., but I would use the day and take a field trip. I decided it was high time I went to see the new ICA. It's been on my to-do list for a long time. Actually it was on "our" to-do list. A friend past away last year and before she died we made a list of things we'd do together when she got well. Unfortunately we never got to do anything on the list. And not a day goes by without me thinking of her. And so it was high time I saw the ICA. Beth would be there with me in spirit and I couldn't not do something because it was on the list. How long would I be able to use that as an excuse not to live? Seriously!

So I decided I would walk from my place in Fenway over to the ICA in South Boston. It was a good 4 mile walk thru the city. It was a cold day but I bundled up and bought a Starsux skim latte to help keep my fingers warm. I got to walk thru Chinatown and see the Lunar New Year celebration. It was fun to stop a bit and watch the lion/dragon thingie!

If you fed it lettuce, a hand would magically appear out of the mouth of this fearsome creature and hand over some incense. So much cool than a vending machine!


But I couldn't stop long, I had someplace I had to be. I did stop and take a couple of pics of this old buildings on my way:




The first picture you can see the building being held up by the metal support rods attached to the building right next to it. And the second picture is a new building but behind it there is this cool old brick wall that looks like they're trying to have be a part of the new building. I like it when old buildings are restored or used in combination with new structuring.

But again, I could stop for long. I had a bit more to walk and finally I was here:

Behold, the ICA building! I'm not a huge fan of the outside. It looks too MIT science building for my liking. I like the use of glass and I like the views from inside. See:
The new ICA sits on the waterfront and it makes great use of the location. I'd pay $15 just for the view alone! Once inside, I saw some great stuff. The piece I really felt an emotional connection to was Falling Fire by Cornelia Parker. Wow, it was both beautiful and sad. She took actual pieces of a burned down store that had been completely turned into black charcoal and strung it up so it was sort of like a huge air mobil. It looked like it was both falling and yet gliding in air. You saw these nails and pieces of blackened wood. To me, it was profound because it was once someone's business...once someone's dreams and hopes. The piece really moved me. It was really quite stunning as art. There were lots of other cool things too. And at the end, there is this really awesome modern media lab:
Row upon row of Macs ready for one to listen to various short videos/films produced at the ICA or interviews with artists. And again the view of the water was awesome!

I ended my visit and started on my journey home. I was 10 mins into walking back when it started to hail. Ouch! Stupid Boston weather! Then it started to rain and then pour, I barely made it to the T in time.

Once home, I had convinced a friend that we should have dinner together 1.) b/c I wanted to see her 2.) b/c I was hungry. We went back and forth about the plans for the evening until she proposed of the the most generous offers I think I've ever received. Dinner at Oishii, her treat! Holy hell!!!!!! Yeah my friends rule!!!!!!

I got gussied up b/c it's rare I find myself having an expensive sushi meal at what many consider the best sushi restaurant in town. My friend had once been a server at Oishii and was greeted warmly by the owners. We sat down and enjoyed a glass of sake brought to us by the chef as we reviewed the menu. I let my friend do all the ordering. I really don't know what she ordered except there was a lot of it and all of it was impressively presented, fresh and very delicious. My only complaint being that I'm a shorty and I didn't really have a great view of all the action behind the sushi bar. My dinner companion did nudge me to watch one of the chefs bust out a butane torch (think home depot) and lightly sear some fish on top of a giant maki roll. It makes me think all good fish should be cooked this way, if at all!

Below are pictures I made her take of some of what we ordered:




As for what any of it is, I haven't a clue. Perhaps she'll be able to comment on what was eaten and what we drank that night. But it was all yummy and the last item had fruit and foie gras in it!!! Overall, Oishii is an amazing experience but as for what I'd recommend to order, well I'd recommend taking my friend with you!

Afteralls, we found ourselves at Union pestering Lee, who look liked he needed to be pestered.

Monday, I had to work but Tuesday I had off again! Woohoo, I mean two days off in one week??? Who would have thunk it possible? Not me! But this day I did need to do my usual time off errands: grocery store, bank, go to the store to pull hours for the employees, pay bills, clean my place, blah blah blah. But with a full day off, I was also able to indulge in one of my favorite gluttonous pastimes: Indian Buffet!

I went to Rami's in Coolidge Corner. I think the best Indian buffets in Boston tend to be in Cambridge: Indian Castle and Ghandi. But I had little time on my hand for lunch and so Rami's was the closest option. Behold my plate of spicy goodness!


We've got saag paneer, a shredded potato fritter of some sort, curry chicken, curry cauliflower and that bowl in the back filled with raita. I have to admit to having an addiction to raita. I eat it like soup much to the horror and dismay of those around me. Luckily it was only me having lunch and so there was no one to disgust. This is good b/c I went back three times for more raita.

And as promised I did make the chickpea salad on the Organette website. Only I added a few extras: 1/4 cup of capers, 1/4 cup of chopped onion and a few splashes of red wine vinegar.



Okay, I know it doesn't look like much in the bowl but I gotta tell you this little salad rocks!!!! It's so good I was scooping out bits of it as a snack after dinner even! It made a nice dinner, a nice TV snack and a nice midnight snack too. Oye! Lucky for me chickpeas are high in protein and low in fat.