Travel Tales

Canal cruising through the Fall foliage peak season

An hour's drive to a great New England canal cruise

Top row: Rounding the Kingston NY lighthouse on the Hudson River to visit FDR's Hyde Park and leaving that port with the vibrant foliage sun struck.
Bottom row: Tied up in Montreal with Habit from the '67 Expo in the background with the pilot house raised in normal position and on right pulled ashore with the pilot house lowered and the bow ramp out along the Erie Canal.

This year's foliage was the best, and seen from a riverboat

By Walter and Patricia Brooks

We stayed the night before at the Williams Grant Inn in beautiful Bristol, RI.

We ate at Quito's Restaurant with this sunset.

The foliage along the canals was spectacular - can you spot the giant Blue Heron in the reeds?

The Singer Castle in the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence Seaway was opulence beyond description.

Some canal bridges allowed one inch of clearance as seen from the pilot house with Capt. Mike at the helm..

And we could not count all the ships we passed, this one greeted by a flock of Canada Geese.

And every lockmaster took the time to chat with us.

I even managed to sit with President & Mrs. Roosevelt.

And Cruise Director Lisa Pontarelli, here with a local entertainer who came aboard, was masterful.

Every meal began with freshly, baked breads & muffins.

New England's record-breaking wet June was bad for business, but it was great for the region's Fall foliage.

And since we get almost none here on Cape Cod, we looked for a way to view it from a boat deck, and discovered the American Canadian Caribbean Line just beyond the Braga Bridge at Fall River in Warren RI.

Family operated for over 40 years American Canadian Caribbean Line of Warren, Rhode Island is the brainchild of shipbuilder, Capt. Luther H. Blount who died at the age of ninety in 2006.

In the 1950's, in order to experience a small ship cruise on the historic Northeastern waterways, you had to own your own yacht or have a friend who did.

Luther Blount owned such a yacht and invited many friends to join him and his young family. It evolved into a business as guests started to multiply, requesting to contribute to the cost and to bring friends of their own.

The Fall Foliage Cruise

The twelve night cruise we took started in Warren, RI, where we boarded a motor coach for a ride to Quebec City during the very height of the Fall foliage season two weeks ago.

The trip includes these stop-overs or visits: West Point on the Hudson River, Kingston, where we visited President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's ancestral home at Hyde Park on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River, Troy, where we had a city tour, followed by these Erie Canal Stops, Oswego, Clayton, Alexandria Bay, Dark Island and Ogdensburg with the really wonderful Remington Art Museum, all in New York State.

The two French Canadian cities we spent a day or longer at were Montreal and Quebec City.

Food on board

The comments most passengers on cruises make about the food aboard is that it's plentiful. Few rave about the quality, however.

On this ACCL cruise it was both.

The small number of passengers here allows some very good chefs and bakers to prepare meals as you might find in a very good restaurant.

Coffee and teas were available around the clock along with munchies and biscotti, and breakfasts were marvelous.

Every lunch included a great soup and dinners included delights like Baked Stuffed Lobster and Prime Ribs.

There was freshly baked bread at each meal and cookies and desserts.

Entertainment aboard

Every evening aboard included some entertainment from talks about the next day's stops and tours to local musical groups and movies.

Onshore highlights

The tours were all commendable and well worth the time and cost.

Quebec City and Montreal was walkable without guides, and the ship even offer bikes if you wish to use the ample bike paths in both cities.

Most unusual tours

Dark Island: A part of American history and local folklore meet at Singer Castle on Dark Island which is located on the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Singer Castle is the only castle on our river to be completed, fully furnished and resided in during the heyday of the 'great builders' and industrials in New York. The Castle remained in the possession of the original Bourne family from its construction in 1905 until the mid 1960's.

Remington Museum: Frederic Remington's unique American paintings and sculptures are a part of our history and even grace the Oval Office at the White House.

The Remington Art Museum is dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, preserving and interpreting the art and archives of this accomplished artist.

The depth and breadth of the museum's Remington holdings is unmatched. The great majority of items came directly from Eva Remington's 1918 estate. They include sketchbooks, endless pages of notes, photographs - even the cigars that were in his pocket before he died.

I had little regard for his work until this visit when I was deeply impressed with Remington's ability to capture an exciting period of our past.

Where to stay in Bristol

We wanted to be near the ship for the early morning departure, so Pat researched and found a gem on High Street, the Williams Grant Inn.

The house is classic and the breakfast mind-boggling: fresh fruit, homemade muffins, pancakes, bacon, etc. We weren't hungry again until Canada.

Where to eat in Bristol

Quito's Restaurant and Fish Market's reputation is worldwide after 55 years hanging over the edge of Narragansett Bay at the north end of town.

Owner-chef Albert has owned restaurants from Maine and back and while his seafood entrees are magnificent, the three chowders are spectacular: New England (creamy and thick), Manhattan (yes, with tomato and great), and Rhode Island style (like chowder was before tourism).

6,000 vs. 66

The trip was a delight from start to finish, which included the sunset shown below. If you get lost on those giant super liners with up to six thousand noisy passengers, try the American, Canadian, Caribbean Cruise Line next voyage and relax.

There were about 66 fellow passenger on this trip, and they were all gentlemen and women.

Our last Hudson River sunset found this happy crew toasting the good ship Grand Caribe.
From left: Sara, Little D, Becky, Rick, Connie, Pat and Margaret.

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Little we see in Nature that is ours, except at Linekin Bay

It's your last chance to experience "real New England" with your family

Linekin Bay Resort is a 20 acre ocean-front gem which is the last of it's kind in New England. Click to see larger.

Linekin Bay Resort is the last of it's kind in the six-state region, snobs need not apply

By Walter Brooks

If you need jacuzzis and satin stitch 500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, you had best stop reading this right now.

If, however, you want to experience the wonders of a previous era in New England which has been destroyed by five star resorts, and spend less than half as much for your next holiday, read on.

         The world is too much with us;
          Late and soon

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not.--Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
                             Henry Wordsworth, 1806.

Linekin Bay Resort has been around for a hundred years, and somewhere along the decades the owners forgot to "go modern" and raise prices.

Thinking about writing this article brought to mind the Wordsworth poem in the sidebar, especially the first three line, "The world is too much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!"

Families who have been searching for that true, New England spirit, will find respite.

But I wish they had never added the term "resort" to the title, because it's more like a comfortable camping experience for families. The term probably raises false expectations for the jet-setters who stumble in and quickly stumble out.

Linekin Bay is on the ocean in Boothbay Harbor and has 35 cabins and 5 lodges located on 20 acres. This kind of spectacular ocean views and tranquil location are no longer available anywhere in the northeast. It was purchased by the same family which still runs it in 1909 and became a summer camp for girls a decade later.

The night before we left, nature put on a show.

The Lobster Bake is wonderful, even for 3-year-old Pip.

Rhodes 19s battle for position behind Cabbage Island in the weekly regatta amongst guests.

After World War II it morphed into a family resort much as it is today, and thankfully has remained that way for your visit.

Why we return every year

This is a traditional New England setting that will take you back in time. It is truly the way life used to be, and every other similar property has been torn down and rebuilt as a posh, high-priced resort charging many times the tariff here.

My wife and two grandchildren and I have spent a week in August here for the past four years.

We will return as long as we are able, and it's not just because a week in our own two bedroom cabin hanging over the bay with three sumptuous daily meals and the use of Rhodes 19s, kayaks and all the rest costs a little over $100 a day each.

Our two-bedroom cottage has a deck overlooking the bay and the Rhodes fleet moored there. The cost for two adults and two children aged 8 and 11 comes to $3,000 for the week and includes three really impressive meals daily.

There is even a lobster bake with all the fixings overlooking the ocean which is included.

On our first visit four years ago we met Bob and Lanese Heubner and their then four-year old daughter Elizabeth of Washington DC.

Our grand daughter Marina and Eliabeth bonded, and we all return the same week every year to return the relationships.

We return because we've "had it up to here" with the phony, tony glitz of the modern resort scene with it's posturing Poo Bahs.

Maybe you and your family deserve something as classy as Linekin Bay. If so, call or email Ron Brann today. He may be the best and most family-friendly resort manager in America. His number is (207) 633-2494 or (866) 847-2103. Click here to see a short Chronicle video.

The property from the air. The cabins hang over the salt water bay.

The pool is huge, and the West Lodge serves as a lobby area and meeting room with nightly movies.

The Main Lodge is also the dining room where you will have wonderful food at a fraction of what you'd expect. Click here to see a short Chronicle video.

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Away from the madding crowds biking a Maine ski slope in August

No snow time is the right time for me, or...

We stayed at the superb Jordan Grand Hotel and flew down the North Peak by taking the Chondola running from South Ridge to the top of North Peak. The Bike Park is open for lift and trail access Friday through Sunday from 10am to 4pm through October 13, 2009.

Why I leave Cape Cod every August

By Walter & Patricia Brooks

The accommodations at the Jordan Grand Hotel are worthy of a "grand hotel."

And the food at it's restaurant, Grand Avenue, is as fine. We had as good a Roast Lamb Shank as we've ever tasted, and grandson Will raved over his steak.

Maybe the ATV safari down to a...
mountain stream was responsible for our appetites, and

Sudbury Inn in Bethel is a short, scenic ride with..

as fine dining as we have ever experienced. This twin tournedos of two petite filet mignons, one with demi-glace and the other with a blue cheese sauce was worthy of Maxim's.

I live on and dearly love Cape Cod, but back when I only "vacationed" here, I never visited in July or August.

The real secret of a great holiday experience is finding a sumptuous retreat which is wildly popular and successful during it's prime season, and then visiting it in the off-season.

On Cape Cod that means after Labor Day through October, and on the ski slopes that means July and August.

Biking three miles down a ski slope

My wife is a wonder at discovering these Shangri-las, and this summer's secret paradise was Sunday River near Bethel Maine.

She chose Sunday River for four reasons;

1. It is posh to the nth degree.
2. We are all avid bikers.
3. The cost is a fraction of that during "the season".
4. No crowds and we get treated like royalty.

Even if you've never been to a famous ski resort, you probably know that it's a tad pricey "in season", but like Cape Cod, a real bargain in the shoulder months which in Maine means May through November.

Sunday River is located minutes from picturesque Bethel Village in western Maine's Mahoosuc Mountains.

A true four-season destination, the resort offers 26 miles of lift-serviced mountain biking, two Grand Resort Hotels and golf at the acclaimed Sunday River Golf Club.

And if you think there's not enough to do in Maine in summer, just check out the activities here which include guided or unguided ATV/Ranger, fly-fishing, mineralogy and canoe/kayaking tours.

And new this summer, Sunday River introduces the Chondola for scenic rides and mountain bike transport, as well as six new miles of mountain bike terrain for beginners and intermediates. The $7.2 million Chondola - part gondola and part chairlift - provides a seven minute ride to North Peak where the resort's system of mountain bike and hiking trails branch from.

The eight-person gondola cabins are reserved for pedestrians, while the six-person chairs are reserved for mountain bike transport.

A Bike & Bed package including lift ticket for $49 a day

The packages make it really affordable, like a 7-Night Stay in a condominium, from $349 for 7 nights through November 5, 2009

That means you can spend a full week in the mountains of Maine for as low as $50 per night!

Or stay in one of their Grand Hotels from $599 for 7 nights through November 5, or bring your mountain bike and stay for $49 per person through October 11, 2009 for the bike and bed package includes lodging in one of their Grand Resort Hotels or Condominiums and 1 day of lift serviced mountain biking. See the Sunday River rates here.

Bethel deserves an afternoon and evening as well

On our second night we took the innkeeper's advise and visited the very charming village of Bethel Maine called "Maine's beautiful mountain village", and had dinner at The Sudbury Inn.

The 135 year-old Sudbury Inn is owned and managed by Scott Davis and has an excellent staff, most of whom are "Mainers" and long time residents of Bethel and its environs. Scott and the inn staff are particularly helpful with information on what to do and see in the area too.

Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of our trip was to discover dining of this rarefied level in such a bucolic setting. Executive Chef Peter Bodwell's food is wonderful, specially his outstanding plate presentation. The wild mushroom lasagna appetizer was memorable, as was the rest of the meal.

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Maine isn't all lobsters and blueberries

Eating our way across mid-coast Maine

Ram Island light is one of the 70 lighthouses which garland Maine's rocky shoreline. It's between Boothbay and Pemaquid Point in the mid coast region five hours north of Cape Cod.

Our first evening meal was at the Damariscotta River Grill which has as original and appealing menu as any in New England. Above are the potato Latkes and Lobster Risotto. Patricia Brooks photos.

Damariscotta, Pemaquid Point, Christmas Cove and Route 1-A

By Walter & Patricia Brooks

Sure, Maine means lobsters, and we had a few, but...

the glory of the Pine Tree State is it's architecture and

it's endless array of small harbors like Round Pond.

The Thai Fish Stew in a coconut red curry broth loaded with fish, shrimp, scallops and mussels at $19.88 was worth every noddle at Damariscotta River Grill.

One of the grill's Monhegan paintings by Betty Heselton.

After another week of rain, summer arrived last week in mid-coast Maine and so far has lasted two days, but three or more inches of wet stuff is predicted for tonight with Fall to follow later in the week.

The trees are already showing their Fall foliage on the Pemaquid Point peninsula where we came in search of what Maine has to offer our palates.

Damariscotta River Grill

My wife has near-mystic abilities for finding the most unlikely culinary delights no matter where we travel, but I thought mid-coast Maine might be her Waterloo.

I was wrong again.

On our first evening we dined at the Damariscotta River Grill in the middle of the charming one-block long village of Damariscotta a hundred yards off Route 1.

This town is drop-dead beautiful, and the Maine Coast Bookstore across from the restaurant is worth a detour all by itself with its charming wi-fi-ed cafe, great coffee and nosh. Damariscotta in Lincoln County with a population was 2,041 at the 2000 census. The towns of Damariscotta and Newcastle are linked by the Main Street bridge over the Damariscotta River, forming the "Twin Villages." The name Damariscotta is an Indian name meaning "river of little fish". The town is picture postcard perfect Maine.

 The grill is owned operated by husband-and-wife team Rick Hirsch (Executive Chef) and Jean Kerrigan (General Manager) who also run the Anchor Inn on the harbor in Round Pond overlooking the scene on the right of the boys jumping off the dock. It's a fifteen minute drive south and an excellent restaurant, but the grill is about as upscale as you get.

A quick glance at the menu reveals unexpected delights like Latkes, which are shredded potatoes, seasoned, pan fried and topped with a marvelous house made apple chutney and sour cream, Oy Vay, $6.20, and Lobster Risotto grilled vegetable and fontina cheese risotto, topped with fresh sautéed Maine lobster, worth every penny of the $24 price.

Two other unusual and delightful entrées we tried were the Steak & Cakes (Earthy & Tender), four ounce tenderloin, covered with roasted garlic tarragon aioli and our fan favorite lobster cakes, $24, and Thai Fish Stew (Exotic & Zesty) in a coconut red curry broth loaded with fish, shrimp, scallops and mussels, with pad Thai noodles, $19.88.

The restaurant's walls were covered with dozens of really lovely paintings by six coastal artists after their annual two week stay on Monhegan Island. The project is called Monhegan Perspectives II. It's the second year the grill has showcased thee artists.

Next stop, breakfast at The Seagull Shop Restaurant at Pemaquid Point

You have never really had blueberry pancakes until you've eaten at the Seagull Restaurant, and the omelettes and hash browns are pretty impressive too.

The next morning dawned foggy here, but cleared as we neared Pemaquid Point for breakfast at the Sea Gull Shop Reastaurant. The menu features prices from $2.50 for one egg with toast, and only $3. for three pancakes, or $5.25 with blueberries, but there is more berries than batter, see the photo above.

The helpings are so large we couldn't even think of eating lunch, and we sequed into dinner that night in Christmas Cove in South Bristol.

Coveside Restaurant in Christmas Cove

The porch at the Coveside is abaft the colorful bar which features music most nights.

The quesadillas were the best I've ever had, and

the blackened tuna was sushi level superb.

The new owners at the Coveside in Christmas Cove have improved this classic sailor's watering hole and made it well worth the half hour drive down this spectacular peninsula.

Ever since Christmas 1614, when Captain John Smith dropped anchor in this picturesque spot, Christmas Cove has been a favorite destination for sailors situated as it is at the southwestern tip of the Pemaquid peninsula.

Although the dinner menu changes weekly preventing us from offering a link, just consider these two items: Crispy Chicken Quesadillas to write home about filled with roasted chicken with cheeses rolled in a cheddar tortilla with Pico di Gallo & flavored sour creams.

Another knockout was the Eastern Rope Mussels, Pinot Gris, fresh herbs, garlic & a crispy baguette.

The steaks and seafood were equally good, but you'd best key in the location in South Bristol on your GPS or bring along a local map.

Now it's time to island hop.

New Harbor to Monhegan Island Inn on a Hardy Boat

The Island Inn looms out of the sea as we landed on Monhegan. On right is the view from the porch.

Point you camera and click.





The sunflower is on Monhegan, the house on Manana.

Behind every scene is yet another.

And you can satiate your more basic appetite with the inn's huge portion of mussel cooked in garlic and Chardonnay. The blueberry pie was amazing.

Few visitors to Maine take the time to island hop, and there isn't a more hop-able island than Monhegan, home of some of America's most famed artists and painters.

I have said that a photographer could be blindfolded here and simply click the shutter and still get great photos.

There is no more photograph-able rock sticking out of the sea.

This year the Island Inn has resumed serving lunch at this 102 year-old landmark. The property is in excellent repair, and one could spend the entire summer sitting in the inn's porch looking out at the harbor and Manana Island which is home for the island's goats.

There were few other guest last Thursday when we arrived on the Hardy Boat from New Harbor but the food was pretty amazing when you consider where we were dining,

 Monhegan is a plantation on an island of the same name in Lincoln County, about 12 nautical miles off the coast.

The population was 75 at the 2000 census. As a plantation, Monhegan's governmental status falls between township (unorganized territory) and town. The island is accessible by mailboat ferry (no automobiles) from Boothbay Harbor, New Harbor and Port Clyde.

Adjacent Manana Island helps form Monhegan Harbor.

Three generation of Wyeths, N.C., Andrew and Jamie have lived and painted here along with Rockwell Kent and Edward Hopper.

Summer months bring artists and tourists on a daily ferry to see amazing ocean views and migrating island birds. Much of Monhegan is uninhabited and free to explore on 17 miles of dirt hiking trails.

The island is the antithesis of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket: it isn't crowded, it isn't commercialized, like really stepping back into the 19th century.

Hardy Boats

We ferried to Monhegan aboard a  Hardy Boat which leaves from New Harbor. Yiou never get lost on a Hardy Boat because the captain ha a compass tattooed on his arm in case of emergencies.

In summer (June 13-Sept. 30) there are two trips daily departing New Harbor at 9am and 2pm and leaving Monhegan 10:15am and 3:15pm.

It wouldn't be the worse thing that ever happened to you if you missed the last boat and were forced to spend the night on this lovely rock.

And finally a little roadside Maine meal at Larson's Lunch Box in Damariscotta.

Roadside dining in Maine

The new owners of Larson's Lunch Box in Damariscotta, Billy and Barb Ganem with their son, kept all that was great about this classic roadside 40 year old eatery while adding new touches of their own. The menu will delight the thrift conscious.

Any trip to Maine is not complete without stopping at a roadside stand. Many have become world famous even without indoor seating, and Red's Eats in Wiscasset qualifies for the fame, although it's not the Pine Tree state's best by any measure.

If you are under the misunderstanding, as most tourists are, that Red's Eats has the best Lobster Rolls, prepare to be corrected. The Best Lobster Rolls in Maine are at Larson's Lunch Box on Route 1-A in Damariscotta. A few of my favorites at this al fresco eatery are: Lobster Roll $14.95, Chicken Salad Roll, Maine Crab Salad Roll $5.95, Super Chicken (with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato & mayo) $5.10 and (of all things) American Chop Suey $2.25 for a 1/ pint and $3.25 for a full pint. The latter was just like my late, sainted mother-in-law made.

We make a point to stop at Larson's Lunchbox each year, but it was closed for a while until Billy and Barb Ganem decided to buy Larson's Lunch Box while living in Southern Nevada. Ironically, five years earlier they had visited Larson's and thought to themselves that it would be great to own a place like The Lunch Box some day! Their wish came true in late 2004 when the opportunity to buy Larson's Lunch Box arose, and in 2006, Larson's Lunch Box reopened.

It's better than ever today, and we'll leave you with another view of bucolic Round Round.

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The Big Apple for Grandkids

When will YOU show your children New York?

The free ride on the Staten Island Ferry offers this panoramic view of NYC and it's bridges.

America's biggest town is also the friendliest

By Walter & Pat Brooks

Taking Amtrak from Providence is the only sensible way to visit "the city" with kids. Especially since the sparkling new train goes along the shoreline during much of the 3-hour trip.

Marina brought her crayons but couldn't keep her eyes off the scenery. The kids were busy every minute.

The first stop in town was the top of the Empire State Building where a worker suspended in space outside the 86th floor was a shock, but...

...a bigger shock came a minute later when this friendly NYPD 'copter hovered for a minute a few feet away.

That afternoon we hopped on the NYC Ducks for a splash-down in the Hudson River, and the $350 fine for honking made the ride peaceful.

The Empire hotel mini suite was perfect for all four of us

The Center Cut steakhouse in The Empire hotel was  nonpareil. Eight-year old Marina fell in love with foie gras after her first-ever bite, and Will said his steak was "better than my daddy's."
The Central Park Zoo had just opened it's rare Snow Leopard exhibit, and we walked to it from the hotel'

Our double-decker bus tour happened to pass the famous Apollo theater in Harlem a few hours after Michael died.

We dined al fresco outside the Museum of Natural History after visiting dinosaurs and primitive man.

We used the Grey Line Double decker buses to get all over Manhattan.

The free Staten Island Ferry is in The Battery at the southern tip of the island and offers views of the Statue of Liberty as a French catamaran sailed past.

Marina went crazy for her fun-food dinner including crispy calamari at The Rooftop in the Empire Hotel.
And to say Will approved of his Rooftop Sliders may be the understatement of the age. He even had them cold the next morning for breakfast.

Our second hotel was The Marcel at Gramercy on East 23rd Street with it's amazing 'inoteca restaurant.

Viewing the city from high, atop a double decker is far more fun than at street level. Here a painter lugs his latest masterpiece through Greenwich Village.

We visited my old coffeehouse, Rafio's, which is now a Chinese restaurant on Bleeker Street in The Village.

We discovered a great wine bar & trattoria called Cello on 53rd. street where one block had 20 restaurants.

After dinner, we were all in bed, when Will asked to go for a final, night time ride through Times Square.

On our last morning we took in "The Top of the Rock" and saw where we stood at the Empire State Building.

And looked down on St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Pat took us all on the subway to the NYC Seaport.

Four hundred years ago this September 11th, English explorer Henry Hudson sailed into what is today called New York Harbor. Three hundred and fifty years later, Pat and I moved there and started a coffeehouse.

Forget about your enmity towards the Yankees - they're in The Bronx, not Manhattan, and we're back in New York to explore America's wildest island with our grandkids.

Manhattan is only two-and-a-half miles wide by twelve-and-a-half miles long, less than 23 square miles with 1,634,795 residents.

It's one of America's richest counties with a median annual income of over $100,000 and has over 70,000 people living in each of those square miles.

That's one quarter the size of Martha's Vineyard which has 171 people per square mile making NYC 415 times as densely populated.

New York City will shock the average New Englander who is used to the cool indifference of his neighbors.

New Yorkers are REALLY friendly.

Only because my wife and I once lived in Greenwich Village and owned a coffeehouse there, did we ask any New Yorker we bumped into for directions of help.

Their friendliness will discombobulate you.

As when Pat insisted on showing our grand kids the NY subway, and then insisted we go to the first car so they could look out the front door window. She found a six-foot, twenty something black guy leaning on the front window with his eyes closed listening to his I-pod.

Pat simply tapped the dude on his shoulder and asked if he would move so the kids could look out. He smiled and said, "glad to, ma'am."

Try that on the Boston Metro.

Day One

We hopped on the 9:05 Amtrak at the easy-to-reach Providence RI station. The train was on time, and the ride a joy.

The cars are spotless, and even the food is good.

The four of us hunkered down in the dining car for the whole 3-hour trip, which if booked in advance, was $40 for adults and $20 for kids each way.

Arriving at Penn Station around noon we took a cab to our boutique hotel, The Empire Hotel, next to Lincoln Center and Central Park. The ride costs $8 plus tip. Four on the subway would have cost $9.

The hotel was lovely and a great location for doing mid and up-town.

When we asked for a cot for one of the kids, they up-graded us to a Living Room suite which was huge, had a living room area with a couch big enough for one child, and free internet.

After dumping our luggage, we jumped back in a cab (with four people it's no more expensive than the subway of a bus) and were at the Empire State Building by 2PM.

Pat and I lived here for five years and never went to the top, but today we're tourists, and it was breathtaking!

There are two observation floors, one inside and one out.

We did both, and the photos on the right show the surprises which awaited us. Our guide said she had never seen an NYPD helicopter come that close or hover that long before.

The 86th floor Observatory is at 1,050 feet above the street has both a glass-enclosed area, which is heated in winter and cooled in summer, and spacious outdoor promenades on all four sides of the building.

High powered binoculars are available on the promenades for the convenience of visitors at a minimal cost.

The higher 102nd Floor Observatory tickets are only sold upon arrival at the Empire State Building at a cost of $15.00 in addition to regular admission tickets, but is well worth the added cost.

On to the Duck Boats

Most people would think this was enough for the first day, but Pat had reservations in the late afternoon for the NYC Duck Boats.

We hopped on a Duck in Times Squire and after silently chugging through Manhattan (the fine for honking here is $350), we ended in the Hudson River about where that US Air jet landed recently.

The tour passed the Aircraft Carrier Intrepid which has just reopened after extensive refurbishing.

A great steakhouse for dinner

Around five we returned to the historic Empire Hotel which underwent a compete redesign in the past year, and the 413 rooms and suites now reflect the elegance of the Lincoln Center a few steps away.

Like so many nightly performances at the neighboring Lincoln Center, the hotel's well-reviewed steakhouse,  Center Cut, offers cuisine which interprets the classics for a modern audience.

The restaurant's namesake is its extensive assortment of succulent "center cuts" of meat and fish, plus a selection of "Modern Classics" restores familiar, yet almost forgotten names like Steak Oscar, Steak Diane and Steak Rossini to their former grandeur.

It's classic fare with a contemporary conscience - the beef is naturally and humanely raised (vegetarian-fed and hormone and antibiotic free), the fowl is free-range and the seafood is sustainable. 

The food and service was impeccable. Grandson Will said his Brandt Beef Tenderloin steak was the best he's had in his eleven years, and eight-year old granddaughter Marina fell in love with her first Foie Gras.

Day two: Snow Leopards, Double decker buses Staten Island Ferry and museums

 The Empire Hotel was a half block from Lincoln Center and a pleasant walk through Central Park to it's zoo which just opened its famous Snow Leopard exhibit.

It's really quite amazing that this city has a zoo in its midst, as well as another in The Bronx.

The Central Park Zoo has dozens of equally exciting exhibits for children.

We next headed to mid-town for our Grey Line Double-decker Bus. This may be Pat's best idea yet - a three-day pass allowed us to hop on or off at dozens of locations all over Manhattan.

Double decker buses are the best sightseeing value. The guides are informative, and entertaining. This company has been doing this for over eighty years. Every guide we had over the five days was either a native Manhattanite or a longtime resident of The City. Many added personal touches to an insightful high-rise ride, even for jaded travelers like ourselves who have lived here.

Remember Ben Stiller's movie, "A Night at the Museum"? Well our first "hop off" was at that world famous and mammoth home of mammoths, the American Museum of Natural History on Central Park West. It would take a year to do this glorious museum justice, so we visited the mammoths, dinosaurs and early human life areas and will return for more.

But lunch beckons.

Again, Pat decided to expand the minds of these young world travelers who may be a tad jaded from all that Steak Oscar and foie gras.

She introduced them to Sabrett's New York sidewalk hot dog stands.

To my eternal distress, one of my grand children (I withhold her name to protect the guilty) puts ketchup on her hot dogs instead of NY mustard, sauerkraut or chili and onions.

After a couple each, we hopped back on the double-decker and headed for Harlem as crowds gathered at the Apollo Theater to honor Michael Jackson.

We ended the uptown loop, and changed buses at no cost to the downtown loop through Greenwich Village, Little Italy, Chinatown, the World Trade center memorial. We  hopped off at Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan for a free ferryboat ride to Staten Island and back.

The twenty-minute trip passes the Statue of Liberty and offers spectacular views of the city like the one at the top of this tale.

Dinner at The Rooftop

The The Empire Rooftop Bar & Lounge is located on the 12th floor of the Empire Hotel and offers views of Lincoln Center, Broadway and Manhattan's Upper West Side. It can be accessed from the outer lobby, and is obviously very popular since it was jammed every night during our visit.

The food is what you expect in a posh singles bar in a major city, but the prices are surprisingly modest.

The four of us each had Kobe Sliders, two 4oz Angus burgers smothered in gingered BBQ sauce, $16, Crispy Calamari flash roasted Serrano pepper rouille, $13 and Crispy Rock Shrimp Tempura, with sweet chili dipping sauce, $15. See the menu here.

The sliders and calamari were so good the kids insisted on taking a doggy-bag and eating them cold the next morning for breakfast in bed.

Day three: A new hotel & walking tours

To make visiting the lower half of Manhattan easier, on our third and fourth night, we moved to the Marcel at Gramercy on East 23rd. Street in Chelsea just above The Village.

The Marcel at Gramercy reopened in early 2008 following an extensive transformation.  Its location in historic Gramercy Park place it within arm's reach of the hip neighborhoods of the East Village and Lower East Side, Madison and Fifth Avenue shopping, Baruch College, the Empire State and Flatiron buildings, and Union Square. Midtown, Soho, Greenwich Village and Chelsea areas are just a short walk away.

The hotel is small and lovely. Its 135 guestrooms have custom designed beds with Frette linens and down comforters, LCD flat screen TVs, IPod docking stations, marble bathrooms with rainfall showerheads and Lather amenities.

Great restaurant on the first floor
The Marcel at Gramercy is home to a superb new restaurant called 'inoteca which features classic Northern Italian cuisine with a modern flare and an extensive (actually Herculean) wine selection.  

The restaurant and wine bar is located on our ground floor at the corner of the avenue and is open daily until 3 am for lunch and dinner. It also offers in-room dining.

'inoteca - "Ino" means small in Italian - and although there's no specific cicchetti menu at 'inoteca, you can pick among a wide variety of small dishes.

There are salads, cured meats, bruschette, sandwiches, small hot plates and fried delights to keep you sated. On nice days, the rustic décor spills out onto the street with café tables flanking opened floor-to-ceiling windows.

The hotel has a European breakfast buffet available daily on the 10th floor from 7:00 to 10:30am for a small surcharge, with complimentary morning newspaper & coffee served 10am to 10pm.

Today we spent lots of time hoping off and back on the bus to spend time in as many parts of Manhattan as time will allow.

Of course that meant walking through Chinatown which is the cities largest neighborhood. Some say it's now almost a third of the borough.

And it should be called "Asiatown" because every nation and people of the Far East is represented here today.

A Greenwich Village walk was necessary to pay homage to Pat and my youth which was spent running our own coffeehouse on Bleeker Street between Sullivan and Thompson across from the Village Gate.

Today it's a Chinese restaurant, naturally, and "the village" moved south and east years ago for most.

Soho was next with it's trendy shops, but even Soho has given way to Tribeca (Triangle Below Canal Street) further south.

Canal Street can take up a morning with stop at Orchard Street and a stroll across the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn at the street's east end.

Little Italy is nearly gone, moved to the suburbs along with its residents.

A street of restaurants

On our third night we discovered a brand new wine bar and trattoria on East 53rd Street.

The Cello Wine Bar is tiny in every respect save its menu and friendliness. Chef Marco Scanzello works wonders in a kitchen smaller than a broom closet, and host-owner Anthony Montecello is an experienced restaurateur who knows how to fill a niche.

Cello is one of twenty restaurants on this one, short city block. Anthony himself owns another one on the 2nd Avenue corner.

I loved the pizza Baldiceri smoked mozzarella. prosciutto. roasted red peppers. parmegiano reggiano, $14, and the list of nine panini were all $12, and the twice-toasted bruschette dessert was memorable.

The website isn't ready yet, so we offer the address, 229 E. 53rd Street, between 2nd & 3rd Avenue, telephone (917) 475-1131.

Day Four; The Rock, the Subway & The Rivers

I should mention that each day's lunch was more Sabrett's hot dogs, but today's al fresco feast was separated by a quick trip to the Rockefeller Center for a ride to the "Top of The Rock", a ride on the New York subways and a Water Taxi tour around Manhattan island.

A dozen blocks further uptown than The Empire State Building, Top of the Rock did offer whole new vistas including looks directly down at St. Patrick's Cathedral which my grandson reminded us all was formed like a cross by it apse and nave.

Apparently sidewalk food wasn't Pat's only "down market" education for her grand children. She made us all tramp to the subway entrance at Rockefeller Center for a ride on three different subways to get to our last event at The Seaport and our final ride on the Water Taxi.

The Water Taxi is the best way to see New York from the sea. On Saturdays and Sundays the boats provide regular service between 10 stops at the city's hottest neighborhoods and attractions. Water Taxis are fast and fun, so you'll see more sights in less time and enjoy a stress-free, breezy ride out on the Hudson and East Rivers.

Below is a scene from that ride from the Brooklyn shore looking east at Manhattan with a replica of Henry Hudson's ship and a Water taxi under the Manhattan Bridge with the Brooklyn Bridge beyond.

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Our own island in the sun

  Mexico and Anguilla lie six miles off our shore

The Wesley House is a Victorian gem with the best "porch view" in New England, see aerial as bottom.

  An historic, Victorian Hotel, Caribbean Grilled Snapper and Viva Zapotec

By Walter & Pat Brooks

A '59 Morris  looked right at home in front of the Wesley House during last weekend's Boston Roadsters rally.

You'll be amazed at the quality, quantity and low prices at Zapotec opposite the Flying Horses on Kennebec Ave.

A bar is a bar is a bar, but the Zapotec's is a charmer.

The best mussels from Maine to Mazatlan.

You may not be able to finish the huge fish tacos, green rice and beans.

You won't recognize the former Pomodoro, now Deon's, Restaurant at the end of Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs.

Chef Deon Thomas has turned it into a crisp, cutting edge eatery with Caribbean tastes muted for Yankees.

This may best the best fish dish in the Bay State.

And all thie art isn't on Deon's walls - here's how his Key Lime Pie is presented.

Price meets pleasure this season in Oak Bluffs.

While nabobs and literati from around the world consider Martha's Vineyard nonpareil, many Cape Codders never venture the six miles across Nantucket Sound to visit this priceless gem of an island.

Martha's Vineyard is the 57th largest island in the United States and third largest on the eastern seaboard.

The rich and famous visit during its summer months including the likes of Bill and Hilary Clinton, and many refer to the island as "Hollywood East."

Cuttyhunk in the nearby Elizabeth Islands originally got named Martha's Vineyard by the discoverer of Cape Cod, Bartholomew Gosnold, who sailed to that island in 1602, but the name was soon transferred to the larger island across Vineyard Sound, and it is the eighth oldest surviving English place-name in the U.S.

A frugal Vineyard visit

A study by the Martha's Vineyard Commission found that the cost of living on the island is 60 percent higher than the national average and housing prices are 96 percent higher, yet staying there and dining well does not have to be a costly experience if you follow our suggestions.

Wesley House, 70 Lake Avenue, Oak Bluffs

If we had a billion to blow, we would still always stay at the Wesley House. It is quite simply The Vineyard personified, and the rooms go for as low as $140 in Spring and Fall rising to $230 in "the season" which is June 19-September 12.

And this is for a hotel which looms over Oak Bluffs' fascinating and busy harbor with Cape Cod across Nantucket Sound beyond. The Brooks' Rule of Travel # 8 is "all hotel rooms look the same when the lights are out", so we prefer saving a hundred or more each night and spending it on a good dinner or entertainment.

The only drawback is my reluctance to leave the Wesley's spacious porch with it's rocking chairs and free coffee 24/7. See the aerial photo below.

The incredible Vineyard Transportation Authority buses stop for you in front of the hotel, and the bike path to Edgartown starts behind the hotel and the old Methodist Campground.

The island is served by four boat lines; the Steamship Authority, the Island Queen and Patriots Boats from Famouth, and the HyLine Boats from Hyannis as well as Cape Air from Barnstable Airport and Boston.

Zapotec, an authentic bargain

I love spicy food, but almost always find myself disappointed after eating Mexican. That was not the case at the Zapotec last weekend.

The new owner, Cybele Sprague, has bounced around Hispanic kitchens in L.A. and Mexico long enough to figure out the right way to please palates without sacrificing authentic Mexican tastes.

My wife, for instance, dotes on mussels, and she's savored them across the globe from Haiti to Hanoi, and she insists the Cybelle's Zapotec Mussels steamed in garlic, cilantro and sweet chioptle cream served with big hunks of crusty French bread, were the best ever.

At $11.99 you may not have room for more food.

If you do, try the Fish Tacos served with green rice and beans for $13.99 or the Poblano Chili Rellenos stuffed with her signature corn and cheese filling served on a bed of roasted, red pepper sauce, $11.99.

This cafe serves lunch and dinner in a casual atmosphere. It has typical southwestern decor including walls colored in shades of orange, purple and red. Cactus plants, strings of chili peppers and pieces by southwestern artisans complete the room which seats 40. It's at 14 Kennebec Avenue, Oak Bluffs, (508) 693-6800.

Deon's, Caribbean elegance

It took a fire at his restaurant in West Tisbury combined with the worst pizzas this side of Galway to get Chef Deon Thomas his new restaurant at the upper end of Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs.

After nine years up island and many more in his restaurant in Anguilla, Deon has turned the former Pomodoro Pizzeria (where I had the worse pizza in my life last September) into an elegant bistro with his unique treatment of Caribbean dishes rearranged for New England tastes.

We're talking a whole Garlic Crusted Red Snapper, $28, and Goat Shoulder Curry, $25, plus Jerk Pork, $14, Conch Fritters, $14, and Conch Chowder, $10.

Deon's has only been open since Memorial Weekend, but not only is everything prepared superbly,  the wait staff is attentive and helpful as if they had been there a decade.

Deon's Restaurant is at 53 Circuit Avenue, Oak Bluffs, (508) 696-0001.

As Jacqueline Sexton reported in her Chilmark column in the Vineyard Times, "Islanders frequently vacation on other islands, and Anguilla, a British colony in the Caribbean, is the latest popular destination, according to Bill and Betty Haynes, who recently visited there. Deon Thomas, chef at The Cornerway in West Tisbury who has a restaurant, The Overlook, there, keeping in touch with his Caribbean cuisine. Menemsha summer visitor Jimmy Buffet was there last month giving a concert "for 1,000 people in enough space for about 100." A number of other families from around the Island were also spotted. If you're seeking the unspoiled quality of the Island, hurry to get there soon before the condos and other ephemera of resort life eclipse all vestiges of the simple life."

Deon was also extolled in One Paper  thus, "Perched on a cliff high above the bustling harbor of Sandy Ground, Chef Deon Thomas' popular and friendly eatery showcases flavorful dishes that combine local and continental cuisine with a sure hand and a distinct flair. This cheerful, casual joint, painted in orange and blue, is decorated in island art. Soups stand out: try the carrot and apple or pumpkin to start, or perhaps a refreshingly brash gazpacho topped with a basil-worcestershire granit.

"At dinner, main courses like roasted grouper curry with coconut-mango chutney or braised goat with fragrant rice and peas reflect local flavors, while international touches yield such dishes as oven-crisp duck with chambord sauce or roasted rack of lamb with rosemary and eggplant tomato ragout. Closed in summer, when Thomas cooks for lucky fans on Martha's Vineyard."

Final food note

The only other food suggestion we have is the Brazilian restaurant Tropical in Vineyard Haven where we had an egg and cheese sandwich on toasted French bread including coffee for $2.99.

That's frugal.

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Boston, beef, baseball and breakfast

  Capital Grill is a steak lover paradise

 In case you've heard that beef is passe, you will discover how untrue that is when you visit the Capital Grille in Boston where the sight of a Kona Steak like this will set your digestive juice churning.

 Especially when you add the Red Sox and the Lansdowne Pub

By Walter and Pat Brooks

Looking out our window of the Howard Johnson hotel on Boylston Street we could almost touch Fenway Park.

The Landsdowne Pub is in the shadow of Fenway's serves and authenic Irish Breakfast $13.

And the Sliders were absolutely indescribably marvelous and all three for $9.

Lansdowne's entrees are great, the top on is Sherald's Pie $12 and below the Fish Pot Pie $14.

Dinner at Capital Grill included a dynamite Porterhouse Steak of Herculean proportions.

The Capital Grille is at 359 Newbury Street.

I'm sure that there is a recession somewhere, but there were no signs of one evident in Boston last weekend when we dined at The Capital Grille on Newbury Street, in Boston and stayed at a sold-out and very affordable hotel on Boylston Street literally a few feet from Fenway Park.

After two Red Sox games and another dinner and breakfast at a great new restaurant named the Landsdowne Pub in the shadow of "the Green Monster" in left field, we were sure that the economy is on the up-swing because everyone of these places was teeming with customers.

The best beef this side of Texas

The Capital Grille may be relatively new to Boston, but not to steak lovers. My wife and I both had excellent steaks shown above and on right below, and we especially liked the Pan Sautéed Calamari with Cherry Peppers.

The calamari is sautéed in garlic butter until golden crisp, then tossed with a house blend of peppers and scallions for a fiery finish.

It's always a special treat when you run into a favorite food prepared this differently. We fought over the last morsals.

The grille is at the head of Newbury Street a few feet from Massachusetts Avenue.

From July 13 to August 23, The Capital Grille is launching an exclusive Master Wine Tasting Event, offering guests the rare opportunity to enjoy generous pours of extraordinary wines with their meals. Hand-selected by The Capital Grille's Master Sommelier George Miliotes, the sampling ($10 at lunch and $25 at dinner) features four of the world's most renowned wine regions: Argentina, South Africa, Spain and the Napa Valley.

Patrons will also have the rare opportunity to win one of two week-long voyages to world-class wineries, personally guided by Miliotes.

See The Capital Grille menu.

See Fenway from your hotel room

Can you believe there is a very affordable hotel literally steps away from Fenway Park?

The Howard Johnson Boston on Boylston Street behind Fenway Park offers rates at just $129 a night, and it is so close to Fenway that guests can watch the Red Sox players as they enter the field for batting practice.

It's perfect for out of town fans, who can celebrate a Red Sox victory with out breaking the bank or having to worry about traveling home.

And with parking costing $40 near the park, you save that much off your hotel bill, and when night games end around 10 pm you can be in bed before the rest of the fans has gotten to their cars for that hour and a half drive back to the Cape around midnight.

15 minute stroll to Newbury Street

The hotel is opposite the Fenway public gardens  and its beautiful flowers. It took us fifteen minutes to stroll from the hotel to the Capital Grille on Newbury Street for dinner before the game.

The Fenway gardens are Boston's equivalent to our "Victory Gardens" full of vegetables, but here the gardens are exclusively floral and there must be a hundred separate private plots across from the hotel.

Pat and I have stayed at 5-star hotels in over 200 countries, and we no longer need the posh and expensive surroundings inherent in a $00 a night bedroom.

We have discovered a new truism; all hotels rooms are the same when you are asleep.

Dinner and breakfast in the shadow of the "Green Monster"

We discovered a new restaurant on the other side of Fenway Park on Lansdowne Street called the Landsdowne Pub.

Until our visit to this new bistro we always had dinner when we went to Sox games over in Kendall Square, but this place is several times better.

The menu at The Lansdowne Pub offers something for every taste, with an emphasis on authentic Irish fare.

Starters include Potato Skins, Oysters, Irish Sliders, and Salmon Cakes, while salad and sandwich options range from Greens and Bacon to Ploughman's Lunch to a Portobello Burger.

Entrees include Fish & Chips, Shepard's Pie, Irish Stew, and Gaelic Steak. Ireland enthusiasts will certainly appreciate the venue's list of traditional side dishes, such as Mushy Peas, Irish Bacon, and Boxty Potato Cakes, along with nightly specials like Traditional Irish Roast, Bangers & Mash, Baked Irish Ham, and Oyster Dinner with Guinness Sausage.

The Lansdowne's signature menu items are its selection of Pot Pies, which come in Chicken, Fish, and Beef Guinness varieties, as well as Deep Fried Mars Bars, a dessert not for the faint of heart.

Along with a full bar, there are 35 bottled and 11 draft beers - including a perfectly poured Guinness - with which to wash down all that Irish goodness.

See the complete Landsdowne menu here.

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What Recession? Boston's better bistros are booming

  Stephanie's on Newbury is still five stars and climbing

The scene on this warm, Friday evening on Newbury Street in Boston fairly describes what this classy city and its best dining is all about. Stephanie's had a half hour wait both inside and out.

By Walter and Patricia Brooks

And the new Stephi's on Tremont is on a par with her older sibling

The corner of Newbury and Exeter Streets in Boston's Bay Bay has been an oasis for that gastronomic impossibility "Sophisticated Comfort Food" ever since Stephanie Sokolove opened her first Stephanie's there fifteen years ago.

The simply "WOW" pan roasted native cod over corn chowder and herb roasted potatoes, topped with buttermilk onion strings.

And the crispy half duck Asian barbeque sauce, fried noodle pillow and sautéed baby bok choy.

And now she has a second equally charming restaurant in the South End at 571 Tremont Street which we write about towards the bottom of this review.

Dining in Boston used to force a choice between posh and peasant, gourmet or "gosh that's good", but not at bistros like Stephanie's where she combined the rich with the rustic for a marvelous new dining experience.

Stephanie's is not about nouveau haute cuisine, not exotic fare, but carefully constructed comfort food for the casual dinner who wants is all.

Over the years the menu has only improved as she discovered new ways to satisfy a longing for grandma's table with an entire 21st. century menu made from scratch using only the best seasonal ingredients.

I began with the very hot and spicy jumbo Asian chicken wings in a honey sesame glaze served with napa cabbage slaw, $12.95.

My wife surcumbed to the enormous red beet and Vermont goat cheese salad with poached asparagus, chick peas, toasted walnuts, pickled onions, chopped tomatoes, sourdough croutons and baby spinach. tossed with orange mustard vinaigrette, $16.95.

She couldn't begin to finish it, but it made a great lunch for us both the next day.

On to the entrées

I really wanted to have the Cuban sandwich of roasted pork, sliced ham, pickles and Swiss cheese on griddled French bread with roasted garlic mayonnaise and spicy homemade ketchup, served with French fries and coleslaw, $16.95, but since we were here for dinner, I passed and instead ordered as good a fish dish as I ever had, the pan roasted native cod over corn chowder and herb roasted potatoes, topped with buttermilk onion strings, $25.95.

The server suggested Pat try the simply "WOW" crispy half duck in an Asian barbeque sauce, fried noodle pillow and sautéed baby bok choy which was enough for two people, $28.95.

And now, another Stephanie called Stephi's on Tremont

The amazing Arepa Con Chorizo Columbian style.

Salty Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake Benedict.

A five minute drive west from the Boston Common on Tremont Street brings you to the South End and Stephanie's new bistro.

The scene above was on Sunday around 1pm when the sidewalk was crowded with locals waiting to get into this six weeks old restaurant.

Luckily we had reservations, and after a Bayou Bloody Mary absolut pepper, tomato juice, spices, tom olives, garnished with a jumbo shrimp and old baby rim, 16.00, I plowed into an amazing Arepa Con Chorizo Columbian style corn cake and grilled chorizo sausage, topped with 2 eggs sunny side up and roasted pico de gallo, $12.

Patricia really loved the Salty Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake Benedict jumbo lump crab cakes with crushed pretzel crust topped with poached eggs and whole grain mustard hollandaise, $15.

It was very tempting to go nuts and try the Stephi's Meatloaf Hash made of their famous meatloaf sauteed with onions, mushrooms and peppers, topped with 2 fried eggs, served with gravy and hollandaise, 15.

Here's the rest of the brunch menu

Brunch Specialties
New England Clam Chowder, 7.00
Chef's Choice Soup, 7.00
Ahi Tuna Tartare sashimi grade tuna served with sesame poached tomatoes, whipped avocado,
chipotle chili soy sauce and lime vinaigrette, 13.00
Turkey Reuben Panini thinly sliced house roasted turkey on marble rye with melted swiss
cheese, coleslaw and russian dressing, served with french fries, 13.00
Thai Chicken Roll - Up pan seared thai spiced chicken breast wrapped in toasted lavash
with shredded carrots, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, bean sprouts and coconut peanut
sauce, served with asian slaw, 12.00
Corey's French Onion Panini shaved prime rib, melted swiss cheese and sherry braised
onions on sour dough, served with onion soup dip and french fries, 14.00
Croque Senora baked open faced sandwich of serrano ham, manchego cheese, fried egg
and creamy bechamel sauce on buttered brioche, 14.00
Fresh Fruit Salad seasonal melons, pineapple, watermelon and berries, topped with yogurt
and homemade granola, 14.00
Crunchy Vegetable Salad a healthy and fresh mix of thin sliced carrots, sweet cucumbers,
celery, shaved cauliflower, red peppers tossed with baby arugula and lemon feta vinaigrette, 14.00
add 3 grilled shrimp, 10.00
add grilled chicken, 6.00
Newbury Street Chunky Chicken Salad a classic since 1994. roasted chicken, mayonnaise,
toasted almonds and capers on a bed of field greens with sliced tomatoes and irish
soda bread, 14.00
Pecan Goat Cheese Fritter Salad served over field greens with spiced pecans, sliced
pears, brioche croutons and balsamic vinaigrette, 15.00
Roast Turkey Club Goes Salad house roasted turkey, aged cheddar cheese, smoky bacon,
thick sliced tomato, ripe avocado and brioche croutons served with romaine and iceberg
lettuces and whole grain mustard vinaigrette, 15.00
Classic Stephi Burger ground sirloin topped with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions,
thick bacon and sauteed mushrooms on brioche bun, served with french fries, 14.00
Buttermilk Pancakes served with real maple syrup and cinnamon honey butter, 12.00
with choice of : blueberry, banana brown sugar, cranberry granola, chocolate chip, cinnamon
rum raisin, 14.00
Arepa Con Chorizo columbian style corn cake and grilled chorizo sausage, topped with 2
eggs sunny side up and roasted pico de gallo., 12.00
Meatloaf Hash our famous meatloaf sauteed with onions, mushrooms and peppers,
topped with 2 fried eggs, served with gravy and hollandaise, 15.00
Cheddar, Ham And Biscuit Sandwich shaved black forest ham, melted cheddar cheese
and fig jam, served on a buttermilk biscuit with hot southern grits, 12.00
Really Good French Toast thick cut brioche dipped in traditional egg batter wit vanilla,
cinnamon and sugar served with real maple syrup,. 12.00
Belgian Waffle with fresh berries, whipped cream and real maple syrup, 12.00
Tower Of A Bagel With Smoked Salmon thinly sliced smoked salmon, whipped cream
cheese, red onion, capers and salmon roe sandwiched in a toasted everything bagel, 14.00
Classic Egg Benedict shaved black forest ham, poached egg, and hollandaise served atop
baked english muffins,  14.00
Salty Pretzel Crusted Crab Cake Benedict jumbo lump crab cakes with crushed pretzel
crust topped with poached eggs and whole grain mustard hollandaise, 15.00
3 Egg Omelet 3 large farm fresh egg with your choice of: black forest ham, and aged chedda, 10.00
spinach, tomato and feta, 10.00
braised short rib and parmesan, 12.00
smoked salmon, fried capers and chive cream cheese, 12.00

Brunch Cocktails
Stephi's Mimosa champagne and fresh squeezed orange juice, 10.00
The Executive Mimosa champagne, stoli orange vodka, cointreau and fresh squeezed
orange juice served on the rocks, 13.00
Stephi's Famous Bloody Mary vodka, tomato juice, secret spice mix, celery and old day
rim, 11.00
Bayou Bloody Mary absolut pepper, tomato juice, spices, tom olives, garnished with a
jumbo shrimp and old baby rim, 16.00

Sides: $4
Home Fries
Ruby Red Grapefruit Brulee
Apple Wood Smoked Bacon
Breakfast Sausage

Breads
Toast, 3.00
Pecan Sticky Bun, 5.00
Toasted Bagel with cream cheese, 4.00
Buttermilk Biscuits, 4.00
Fresh Baked Muffin, 5.00
Baguette with house made jams and whipped cream cheese, 6.00

• Stephanie's on Newbury, 190 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 236-0990
  
• Stephi's on Tremont, 571 Tremont Street, Boston, (617)
  
• On the Phantom Gourmet video on Stephanie's.
  

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A weekend in the heart of the Faneuil Hall area

Location, location, location, plus incredible food and free entertainment

From the patio on our floor we look down on the weekly Haymarket Square outdoor food tents with the new Rose Kennedy Greenway built atop the Big Dig and Boston's famous North End beyond.

The new Millennium Bostonian boutique hotel has it all

By Walter & Patricia Brooks

The view from our seventh floor window at night...

...looks out on a teeming Faneuil Hall & Quincy  Marketplace scene bustling with activiteis including...

..free enterainment outside the historic market building like this stand-up comic in front of Quincy Market.

The rooms also offer views of Faniuel Hall.

Our table at 26 North looked out on the Faneuil Hall scene with horse drawn carriages & the Quincy Market.

The food at North 26 was spectacular and original. Above is the Shellfish Stew and Cod Maedallions.

The Rose Kennedy Greenway separate the hotel in the backgound right with the North End.

...where you can sample an Italian espresso and pastry at Maria's, one of dozens of old world eateries here.

The Haymarket stalls crowd up against the hotel,

The scene on Saturday from our balciny.

It's difficult to believe that after a hundred weekend visits to Boston hotels, we have discovered something really new and different.

Overlooking Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, the new Millennium Bostonian is the ideal location for discovering all that the historic and unique city of Boston has to offer.

In addition to being brand-new with stylish with spacious guestrooms and suites - the rooms all feature high-quality details such as pillow-top beds, Frette linens and 40-inch high-definition televisions - the property is smack dab in the middle of more exitement than perhaps any other New England hotel or resort.

$24 million renovation

The new Millennium Bostonian has just completed a $24 million renovation including the guestrooms, lobby, restaurant and courtyard driveway entrance.

The hotel's exciting new dining venue, North 26 Restaurant and Bar, features contemporary New England cuisine, and the entire property's design was inspired by the pulse of the marketplace outside offering a contemporary look in a comfortable, 21st. century atmosphere.

The North 26 restaurant looks out directly at all the bustling activities at Quncy Market and Faneuil Hall.

Our dinner at North 26

The dinner menu at North 26 is eclectic with prices below average for a Boston hotel.

Chef Brian Flagg worked for years with Jasper White and Todd English, arguably two of New England's most esteemed food innovators, and his experience tells in his completely original menu here. Every item is a creation of Flagg's, and the execution matches the taste and the service.

Manger Ruben Estrada is a great host, and our server Fernando was witty as well as helpful.

We started with Boston Bean & Pancetta Soup with house cured pancetta, navy beans, leeks and thyme with Swiss chard-pinenut raft, $7, and a Mixed baby greens salad with roasted beets, oranges, pecan-crusted croutons and citrus vinaigrette, $8.

We shared two appetizers, Cornmeal-crusted Oysters, crisp fried with creamed corn and a BBQ ldrizzle, $10 and Pork & Cape Cod littlenecks pan-braised with Black Beans, Cilantro and Chilies, $11. Both were excellent.

For entrees I thoroughly enjoyed North 26's Herb-crusted North Atlantic Cod medallions served over Crab Scallion Cream with Red Beet Risotto & shredded kale, $23.

My wife loved the New England Shellfish Stew with included Lobster, Clams, Mussels, Scallops, Squid & Chourizo in a Saffron Tomato Broth, $27.

The desserts were too outrageous to describe, but here's the menu if you want to guess which excess defeated our resolves to stop eating.

Lunch is a window on this lively world with prices from $11 for sandwiches and $15 for entrees.

After dinner or lunch you can unwind in front of a gas-burning fireplace set before original art installations and a quiet reading area, or walk across the street to explore over 125 shops and restaurants. The property is minutes away from Logan Airport, Boston Harbor, the New England Aquarium, North End restaurants and the Freedom Trail.

Quincy Market, Faneuil Hall

Renovated in 1976, this shopping area has been used as a model in other cities for urban renewal projects.

The original historic Quincy Market building was completed in 1826.

It's a beautiful old granite structure that is 535 feet long, and the style is Grecian-Doric with huge columns at each end. The building was built during Mayor Josiah Quincy's term of 1823-1828, and was named after him.

Samuel Adams Drake quotes Quincy as saying the market: "invested the sluggish town with new life, and brought into practical use a new watchword, Progress." Those words were true in 1826 as the are today.

The central building now houses restaurants, bars, and push-cart vendors with greenhouse style enclosures on both sides. There are boutiques and shops in buildings surrounding the granite centerpiece. Faneuil Hall Marketplace (Quincy Market) is a great location to dine, shop, and people-watch.

There are free events in the area between the market and Faneuil Hall, with artists and entertainers often at the Faneuil Hall end of the building. It's a bustling place, and a very popular tourist attraction.

Faneuil Hall and is bordered by the financial district, the waterfront, the North End, Government Center and Haymarket. It is a well-traveled part of Boston's "Freedom Trail." The Marketplace is a five-minute walk to the New England Aquarium, The Children's Museum, The Old State House, and Paul Revere's House.

Rose Kennedy Greenway & North End

The Rose Kennedy Greenway is a mile and a half long series of parks and public spaces being created atop the Big Dig in which begins near the Millennium hotel and extends to the Aquarium and Children's Museum.

The greenway was named in honor of Kennedy family matriarch Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and officially dedicated on July 26, 2004,

Two minutes away on the other side of the Kennedy Greenway (which was created above the Big Dig) is the North End, Boston's oldest neighborhood which still retains its 1630's web of narrow streets and is itself next to Boston's harbor wharves where European immigrants arrived in ever-increasing numbers up to the early 20th century.

The North End, in fact, brings to mind the New World phenomenon of an ethnic melting pot. Covering one square mile and always densely populated, it has been home to successive influxes of English, Polish, Russian, Jewish, Portuguese, Irish and ultimately Italian families.

Today it remains an authentic Italian neighborhood with hundreds of great restaurants and coffee houses.

We walked over both days to shop in these unique Italian markets, and had superb espresso and gelato at Maria's Pastry Shop overlooking the Greenway.

 Haymarket Square

Haymarket Square is a busy open-air produce market held each Friday afternoon and Saturday from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. rain or shine, all year long and begins alonside the Millennium Bostonian.

The Haymarket produce market is a real-world contrast to the more upscale offerings of the food shops, restaurants and boutiques of adjoining Faneuil Hall Marketplace next to it.

The market is centered on short, narrow Blackstone Street, and most of the costermongers (vendors) are oldtimers from the North End's Italian community. Some have been working the market for decades, and some families have done it for generations.

Prices are much lower than in supermarkets. Haggling is almost always possible, especially late in the day when prices fall as the sellers would rather sell than pack up, carry away and store what's left on the carts.

It's a colorful scene, and authentic. Most shoppers are not here to take photos but to shop for food for big families and to save money.

The Millennium Boston.

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Make-over of a 118 year old Boston Grand Dame

The Copley Square Hotel is Boston latest boutique reinvention
17 Million make-over restores it beyond its original glory

By Walter and Patricia Brooks

The Copley Square Hotel faces Copley Place.

The bedrooms are very snappy, Art Deco with...

...the fastest Wi-Fi access I've ever found in any hotel

The breakfast area is as smart as the rest of the hotel.

Directly a across Huntington Avenue from the best shopping in Boston at Copley Place  and a block from the shops at Prudential, the sparkling new Copley Square Hotel is truly a re-polished,  historic gem located in the heart of Boston's Back at the corner of Exeter Street.

It has the distinction of being the city’s second-oldest hotel in continuous operation.

opened on July 4, 1891 at a total cost of  $300,000, or less than 2% of the cost to renovate today.

After its $17 million renovation and reinvention which turned the C2 into a delightful boutique hotel, guests
will have luxurious accommodations at an undeniably attractive rate at Boston's hottest contemporary boutique hotel.

Copley is also a block from Boylston Street and two blocks from Newbury Street shops and easy walking distance to many of the city's most popular restaurants, nightspots, and attractions,

Perhaps best of all in these recessionary times, the Copley Square Hotel offers visitors these unique opportunities while
enjoying ome of the most competitive hotel rates Boston has to offer.

The newly redecorated room rates start at $225, and a Deluxe King room shown on right is only $249.

Take a Spring Break

Take a spring break without breaking the bank at this sparkling new urban oasis.

Leave the tropical oils and bathing suits behind, and get ready to relax and party at the Copley Square Hotel.

Hook up with a friend for some clubbing followed by some do-not-disturb late night action and get in 2 it without worrying about your friends barging in.

Package includes a King Deluxe room (on right), breakfast for 2 at Xhale, 2 cocktails and an appetizer at the miniBar, VIP access to Saint, one of Boston's most exclusive nightclubs, and 2 passes to FitCorp to work off your excesses from the night before.

Each additional night will be 20% off the best available rate. The package is available through April 16, 2009.

The latest word in hospitality

I have developed a "Brooks' Hotel Rule #1" which postulates that the higher priced the hotel room rates, the fewer the free amenities and the higher the price for online access.

Copley Square however follows the 21st Century trend of offering fast wired access everywhere and at no cost.

And every evening from 5 to 6, the hotel hosts a "Wine Down" time offering guests a glass of wine in the lobby.

My pet peeve at every the five star hotel is the time when coffee is available for guests.

That's not a problem here since the Copley Square has a Keurig coffee maker in the handsome lobby which makes freshly brewed one-cup-at-a-time coffee of your choice and is available 24/7.

Past is present

In its hayday the hotel was the election headquarters for President William McKinley, and has hosted many celebrities including sports legend Babe Ruth and jazz artists Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington,  so the new Art Deco decor is a happy aura for their ghosts.

On January 24, 2008, the Copley Square Hotel closed for a multi-million dollar property-wide renovation - emerging in January 2009 as a contemporary, luxury boutique hotel. The extensive project included thorough remodeling of all accommodations, as well as the lobby, restaurant, and miniBar (formerly Domani and the Original Sports Saloon).

Copley Square is one of five Massachuetts hotels owned by International Hotel and Resorts.

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