A Neat (Boston) Day Off

After finishing a painful three-week slog at work, I decided to take Friday off, and hang out in/explore Boston--specifically parts that I have not managed to hit to date. Photos from my wanderings are posted to Flickr.

I had heard about "the best sticky buns in Boston" from a food network show, at Flour Bakery, in the Fort Point Channel area. The owner is a Harvard applied math grad who decided to bail on management consulting to open up a bakery... cool stuff. I decided that this was stop number one. A great location--perfect bustling atmosphere, and their pastries were terrific. Unfortunately, their sticky buns were sold out for the day.


I spent a few hours taking a conference call there. Unfortunately, it noisy enough that I had to step outside to talk on the call. But overall, sitting with a cup of coffee in a high-end bakery and then wandering around Boston is definitely the right (or least painful) way to do conference calls.

This was follow by--guess--more eating! Lunch at The Barking Crab--a Boston institution that I've never gone to. After a crabcake on a bun, it came across to me as a clam shack's decor with a Boston seafood menu and prices... but still worth going to (especially if the tent portion is open during the summer). Unfortunately, the Chinese restaurant with awesome salt & pepper shrimp has closed... bummer.

Next, I went to visit the ICA (Institute for Contemporary Arts)--for all my time living in Boston, and I've never been there, even with their new building circa 2006 (their old building was actually in the Back Bay). The building is pretty neat--a tremendous cantilevered top floor, overlooking the water.


And here's the view out of that space--fortunately, they use it as hallway instead of exhibit space.


Also, as much as I make fun of architects who use too much glass, I had to admit that this space really works. I was surprised to find that at least they actually used double glazing--I was expecting to find a single layer of structural glazing (i.e., even less insulating value). Although there's an entire bank of heaters hidden in the floor in front of the windows, to blast enough hot air to keep condensation from sweating all over the glass.


As for the art collection itself--they have both a permanent collection, and a changing exhibit. All of the exhibits are on the top floor--it is a small enough collection that you can do this museum in an afternoon, as opposed to MoMA or MFA-style "Ack... we spent the whole day doing a marathon session, and we barely made a dent!" A wide mix of painting, photography, sculpture, and media arts.

The rotating exhibit was works by the sculptor Tara Donovan--be sure to check out the slide show of her work from that page. Her work is delightfully inventive and great to look at--she uses common mass-produced items (plastic cups, paper plates, toothpicks, mylar tape, soda straws) in repeating patterns to create large organic-looking installation pieces that make you look, pause, step closer, and then smile when you realize what the components are. For instance, a room-sized landscape terrain of undulating hills... and when you step closer, you see that it's made out of translucent plastic cups.


So for both reasons, the ICA is a strong recommendation--if you're local, be sure to go see it!

Later afternoon plans included writing postcards at 1369 while sipping a cup of hot cider, killing time in Harvard Square at various shops, and pizza at Upper crust--yeah, definitely worth its Zagat mention. This was followed by a forgettable production of Sondheim's Assassins by a student company. But overall, not a bad way to spend a Friday.