My destination on Saturday afternoon was the
Grand Circle Gallery located in Boston's
Fort Point Channel neighborhood.
Set in a 19th century historic brick building at 347 Congress Street, the gallery is dedicated to exhibiting
vintage travel posters and photography.
If you've ever been to my apartment, my love for vintage posters, specifically those featuring travel destinations is rather evident. My collection includes framed copies of a Chamonix/Mont Blanc poster, a Cote d'Azur poster and a large Japanese Railway poster. Even a wall collage in our bedroom boasts some smaller 4x6 frames displaying postcards (among photographs) collected on our trip to France (Paris, Marseille, Cassis and Nice) in 2009.
Yes, we have a lot of wall space and yes, my apartment is basically a hodge podge of vintage posters. So once I discovered that the Grand Circle Gallery existed I knew I had to pay them a visit.
What peaked my interest was the current
Vintage Winter Sports Exhibit. Displaying among artifacts and memorabilia from the early days of skiing in New England and Europe
, are 30 vintage skiing and Winter Olympic posters. The posters are originals that pre-date WWII and most are on loan from the
New England Ski Museum. My favorite sport showcased in the adored vintage poster form, plus a little bit of history? This made for a fascinating not to mention free afternoon. The posters truly capture the spirit of adventure and the beauty of the sport. I could not photograph them due to copyright issues, but I did snap a few photographs of the vintage paraphernalia.
If you have any similar interests in travel or vintage posters, I urge you to check out the gallery. If you're particularly interested in the skiing aspect, the Vintage Winter Sports Exhibit runs through March 18th. Admission to the Gallery is free and the hours are as follows: Wednesday & Friday 11:00 am – 2:00 pm / Thursday 11:00 am – 7:00 pm / Saturday 11:00 am – 3:00 pm.
Afterwards, I headed to
Flour Bakery + Cafe located at 12 Farnsworth Street, which intersects Congress and is almost directly across from the gallery.
Meaning to try Flour all these years, can you believe I had never set foot in one? For you non Bostonian readers, or those readers who are still unfamiliar, Flour is infamous for mouth-watering pastries, specialty sandwiches, and ownership under acclaimed local celebrity chef
Joanne Chang.
Since its debut opening in the South End ten years ago, Flour now boasts locations at Central Square in Cambridge opened just last year and here in Fort Point Channel opened in 2007. Flour is also the namesake of Joanne Chang's first cookbook published last year.
Basically, I hung my head in shame for never having visited and now I can proudly attest to the impeccable food, gracious service and warm atmosphere that Flour is so consistently praised for. 
The staff member who took my order was super friendly and made me feel right as home as I decided what to drink. He explained the ingredients (impressive that he knew them all, it was quite a mix of cayenne and other spices) as well the benefits of the Fiery Hot Chocolate - "it will clear your sinuses right up". Perfect, my nose is always stuffy and today especially so. 
The Fiery Hot Chocolate was excellent, smooth and rich with an easy kick.
My mind was made up ahead of time about my sandwich choice, but as far as what to order for dessert, he continued to aid in recommending certain pastries, never once making me feel rushed. I feasted on a sandwich of Roast Chicken, Avocado and Jicama ($7.95) 
The chicken strips were moist and sliced to an ideal thickness (or thinness - I never like them too thick), then generously loaded with fresh avocado, jicama slaw and lettuce on soft chewy whole wheat bread. 
In my opinion the more avocado the better and it is evident the folks at Flour tend to agree. 
For dessert I chose the Sticky Bun Bread Pudding, figuring if I couldn't have an infamous sticky bun, I would get the next best thing. 
A decadent sticky caramel and toasted pecan
treat, I definitely could not finish it all in one sitting, and had plenty leftover for breakfast on Sunday. 
The service I received from the staff here in such a busy and bustling counter service environment was not only attentive and courteous, it felt personalized and relaxed. I really appreciated how genuine everyone was and I look forward to trying more of Flour's sandwiches and baked goods in the future!
As I wandered out I noticed another art gallery next door. 
In the mood for exploring I meandered into the Made In Fort Point Gallery where I enjoyed checking out local art work (some of which is for sale) exhibited in various forms including paintings, photography, jewelry and pottery. 
Not a bad afternoon! While we're on the subject, I'll let you know that Fort Point Channel has even more to offer than the small galleries and bakery that I experienced today, with the Institute of Contemporary Art (pictured below) at 100 Northern Avenue on the harbor and The Children's Museum situated on the Channel itself. 
In addition the Harborwalk offers panoramic cityscape and waterfront views,
a stroll I very much enjoy, especially so on a warmer day. (Pictures taken in the Summer of 2008.) These shots make me excited for green grass and warm weather! All in good time. I'm never one to rush the seasons. 
Always up-and-coming in this area is the restaurant and bar scene that began with the likes of Sportello and Drink, and have grown in variety and price point with places I'd very much like to visit including Sam's on Fan Pier, Menton for prix fixe fine dining, Papagayo Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar and Strega Waterfront for upscale Italian. Long gone are the days when Lucky's Lounge was the cocktail den that alone defined the block and attracted nightlife. But I've loved FPC all the same ever since, and will continue to look forward to days and nights of returning to explore this hip artistic Boston neighborhood.
I took the day off of work Friday and ventured north with friends that afternoon. Originally we were planning to leave early and ski Friday but the rain kept us off the slopes. Upon arrival we checked into our super nice accommodations at The Town Square Condominiums, just minutes away from the mountain. Shops and restaurants line the ground level buildings in the square and multi-level condos are situated on the second through fourth floors. 
A touristy spot for sure, met with traditional New Hampshire charms offering a wide range of recreational activities (horse drawn sleigh rides, nordic skiing, ice skating) in addition to comfortable and convenient lodging. 
However, skiing was the only recreational activity on our agenda. Unless you count drinking beers as a recreational activity. 
Friday Night at the condo.
I didn't take any pictures on the mountain, I was too busy being a ski instructor. It was a long morning on the bunny slope and I got in a good amount of intermediate runs after lunch. The terrain wasn't incredibly challenging but sometimes crusin' the blue square trails is a perfect way to spend the day. 
We hit up apres ski at Buckets on the second floor of the lodge for $4 Coors Light drafts. We washed the beers down with a huge plate of nachos.
Skiing works up a serious appetite. This was one amazing plate of Nachos served with sides of sour cream, guacamole and salsa for $11.50. 
Saturday night we ventured out for dinner at Coyote Grill, described as Mountain Casual Dining. Though we fared about a 15 minute wait for our 8:00 reservation and the service overall was pretty slow, we knew it was not due to any other reason than the place was jam packed. Plus, they took our reservation only hours before. 
Our waitress was genuine, friendly and accommodating the entire evening, devotedly apologetic for our continued wait despite the fact that we were completely content to linger and enjoy ourselves some drinks. I drank a Coyote Margarita ($6) followed by a Makers and Ginger over the course of dinner. 
I feasted on a half of a Wedge Salad Iceburg lettuce, home made bleu cheese dressing, smoked New Hampshire bacon, red onion, roma tomato and candied walnuts.
All the ingredients were really fresh, contrasting taste and textures were well executed from the crispiness of the smokey and salty bacon, the crunch of the sweet candied walnuts, the tartness of the onions and the juicy roma tomatoes. The layers of iceberg lettuce welcomed a creamy bleu cheese laced with smooth blue-gray crumbles. 
For my entree I ordered the Braised Beef Rib ($21) Smuttynose Brown Ale braised boneless rib of beef, Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, root vegetable demi glace
Fork tender and flavorful beer braised rib sat atop well seasoned Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. A root demi glaze sauce added depth and enhanced flavors. In addition to the menu description the plate also benefited from bite size nuggets of squash, adding a playful sweetness to an otherwise savory dish. 
Other entrees like the locally raised Grilled Venison Steaks and the Almond Encrusted Chicken fared well, however, seafood dishes saw a tough time in this kitchen. Ahi Tuna came incorrectly prepared and scallops were undercooked. Never the types to send back food, we all agreed, it's no fun to admit a dishes defeat. Our waitress was understanding and replaced as well as comped the not up to par meals. Coyote Grill still deserves praise in my eyes as my food was excellent and our dinner was met with quality service. I'd recommend sticking with a meat or poultry entree and be prepared for a crowd!
The weekend saw plenty of Moosin' Around in Waterville Valley. It's always tough to say goodbye to another great ski weekend and hello to Monday in the office....
