So what is so special about Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe? Is it the flatbread, you ask? Kind-of. I'll be honest and say that I got a pork flatbread sandwich and it was pretty good, but nothing super special. So what is it that draws people to the restaurant and for it to be written about in numerous articles? The hand-pulled noodles! They are so thick and chewy (in the best way) and the concoction with the various spices and LOTS of oil (yeah, this place isn't for the health-conscious), it was a really good meal! A bonus about this restaurant is that it's incredibly cheap. The hand-pulled noodles dish which is a generous helping is only $6! It's a place that I would definitely frequent again if I'm downtown when it's open and want a really great Asian noodle dish.
A few weeks ago I was out and about on my day off running errands downtown, and so I decided to check another restaurant off my list! There are a few places on the list that are lunch spots only, or they just close pretty early at night, so a perfect time to check them out is on my day off in the middle of the day. The place I chose to visit was Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe. I had read about it first in an article that was explaining the best Chinese restaurants in the Boston area and it was even quite specific on the type or region of food you are looking for. I've saved a number of these restaurants to my own list from this article.
So what is so special about Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe? Is it the flatbread, you ask? Kind-of. I'll be honest and say that I got a pork flatbread sandwich and it was pretty good, but nothing super special. So what is it that draws people to the restaurant and for it to be written about in numerous articles? The hand-pulled noodles! They are so thick and chewy (in the best way) and the concoction with the various spices and LOTS of oil (yeah, this place isn't for the health-conscious), it was a really good meal! A bonus about this restaurant is that it's incredibly cheap. The hand-pulled noodles dish which is a generous helping is only $6! It's a place that I would definitely frequent again if I'm downtown when it's open and want a really great Asian noodle dish.
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My newest Spotify playlist that I have put together is a small list of newer country songs that I am having a great time listening to while at work. Although I enjoy all of the songs on that list, there are three new songs that really stick out to me either because they are catchy, hauntingly beautiful, or have great harmonies. A bonus is that they are all by artists I have never heard before, which is always fun! The Hauntingly Beautiful One: "Burning House" by Cam. I know this one has been out for awhile but I only started listening to it more recently, and it's really beautiful. For a girl who likes to sing, this is an excellent song to belt to. The Catchy One: "Fix" by Chris Lane. When I was first going through the "Hot Country" lists on Spotify, this was one that I almost skipped after listening to the first 10 seconds. But I'm glad I didn't because by the time you get to the chorus, you are singing right along with him. Or at least I am! It's definitely on the poppier side of country though, so be warned! The One With Great Harmonies: "Wasn't That Drunk" by Josh Abbott Band ft. Carly Pearce. This one is my favorite of the three. Besides the really nice harmonies in this song, I can't explain why else I really love it, but I do. I've loved it from the first time I heard it and get excited every time it comes on. This is the true mark of a "current song obsession". Hopefully because this was mostly a vacation where we just relaxed a lot, this post won't be terribly long. A few months back, I saw a Travelzoo deal for a 4 night/5 day trip from Boston to Jamaica at an all-inclusive resort for only $800. I always longingly look at the Travelzoo deals, but my downfall is that I usually plan my vacations so far in advance that I can never do these "last-minute" deals. But this time frame worked well for me. It wasn't a full week, which was great because I didn't have the extra vacation to use on that, and January is a slow month and frankly a perfect time to travel and get away from the coldness in the North. These deals are usually based on double occupancy though which sucks for a single gal like me. But luckily, I have another friend who has traveled even more than me and I thought that she would definitely be up for it and able to make a decision in the couple days that we had, and she was! So it was planned for my friend Julie and I to head to Jamaica in late January! Jamaica Day 1 should have started out by flying from Boston to Newark and then onto Montego Bay, but unfortunately on Jamaica Day 0 (the night before), we heard from United that our plane from Boston to Newark was delayed by two hours (for no apparent reason other than that they didn't have a plane). Normally I'd relish being able to sleep in more, but this delay meant that we would miss our connection in Newark by about 20 minutes. There were no other flights flying to Montego Bay that day and the next time they could get us there was on a flight via Air Canada on Saturday. Well, this was the weekend with the huge snowstorm coming to the Mid-Atlantic region and we were very nervous that the flights wouldn't even leave. Plus, we didn't want to waste one of our days/nights at the resort. So after much deliberation, we decided to rent a car and drive the slightly less than 4 hours down to Newark at 1:30 in the morning. VERY tiring, and thanks to Julie for doing the driving! We made it to Newark with plenty of time and luckily left on our flight to Jamaica only a little bit late! Day 1: Our real day one started with us arriving in Montego Bay around 3pm and once we found our transport bus to the resort, we also grabbed our first (but definitely definitely not our last) Red Stripe of the trip. Hey! It had been a long day(s) and it was very much needed. The weather was beautiful and we were so happy that we actually made it! Once we go to our resort, Sunscape, we found out that we got an upgrade randomly. At first, we were like "they say that to everyone", but it turned out that we actually did get an upgrade to the "cove" side of the resort where we were able to go to two more of the restaurants (and the best ones)! We changed quickly into our swimsuits and went down to the beach to enjoy the last bits of the sun before it set. Then we headed to the restaurant called "The Terrace" that was just for our side of the resort and the food was pretty good. A theme we found is that the appetizers were always the best! We were clearly very exhausted and so we went to bed at 9pm and slept for 11 1/2 hours. I don't remember the last time I allowed myself to do that and it felt amazing. That's the whole reason for the "relaxing" vacation anyways, right? Day 2: We got a late start today because we had slept in some and then went to breakfast at the Terrace, so finding a spot by the pool that wasn't already staked was hard. We ended up on a the little strip of beach, one of us in a beach chair and the other on the sand. We were able to get an hour and a half in before the weather started to change and it became VERY windy. Too windy to stay out there, so we grabbed lunch at the buffet and then headed back to the room and just chilled in there for much of the afternoon while it was windy and rainy. It quieted down a bit, so we went to an early dinner at this other restaurant that was just for "The Cove" people and it was the best meal that we had. Again, the appetizer of a "bammy" with other toppings was really yummy and we each ordered more than one. And I'm not normally a steak person, but I got the steak and shrimp meal expecting the steak to be mediocre and the shrimp to be good, but it was the opposite! The steak was really juicy and flavorful and the shrimp wasn't great. Dessert was also pretty good, just a chocolate cake. The nice thing about all-inclusive is that you can order a 3-course (sometimes 4 or 5) meal and not feel about it at all. Well, not feel bad about the money part of it, but still the calories...I guess. After dinner, we walked down to the beach where it was quite calm and very nice. Then we walked to this adorable little gazebo that you can tell is where any weddings that happen here take place. At night it was all lit up with pretty colors and I was a little obsessed with taking pictures of it...please see below for how obsessed. Then we retired early again, praying for better weather for tomorrow! Day 3: Not better weather today either :( So, we decided to make the most of it and try our luck at the nice beach in downtown Mo'Bay, called the Hip Strip. We had breakfast at the buffet at the resort, which we've decided was not very good. Really glad we were upgraded to the other side with The Terrace restaurant which is much better than the buffet. We grabbed a taxi into town, walked along the "hip strip" which isn't much at all besides a few more hotels and lots of souvenir shops. I was definitely expecting a little more, but that was okay. It was just nice to get out of the resort for a bit. We ended up at Doctor's Cave Beach which is the nice beach in town. We payed an entrance fee of about $5, but I really do think that the wind was a bit less there. It was still cloudy no matter what, but we were able to lay out for a couple of hours and read our books. Then the wind changed a bit and it was too cold, plus we were hungry! I had read up online or possible in the Lonely Planet travel guide book about a good jerk place in the area, called The Pork Pit, so we finally ended up finding our way there and it was super yummy! They had a huge pit out in the open where they had chicken, pork, and other meats there that they cooked in the dry-rub jerk (I think). We both got more bammy, and Julie got plantains (grilled) which were very good. I got the pork and it was AWESOME. And a small size was plenty of food, almost too much for one person actually. If you end up in Mo'Bay at a resort, I would say come into the hip district for some of the local food. We haggled our way into a taxi for a bit cheaper and went back to the resort. This was the Sunday that the semi-playoffs were being played and so we first watched the New England vs. Broncos game and then watched the Carolina vs. Arizona game, the latter while attempting to play King's Cup with only two people with an app on an phone and Red Stripe. #Vacation. We also went to one of the other restaurants at the resort, which was an Asian restaurant, which was pretty good. Yet again, the appetizers were probably the best - very good spring rolls. After dinner, it was decently late for vacation standards and so we hit the sack, really praying that our last day would be perfect! Day 4: And it was :) This was definitely the best day!! The weather was gorgeous and exactly like you would expect it to be when vacationing in the Caribbean. We put our stuff out early to save a spot by the swim-up pool bar! We had breakfast and then I went to go to the tour desk to book a trip for later in the day to the Luminous Lagoon. You have to have a sunny- enough day to go this thing otherwise it's not worth it, and so luckily on our last day it was sunny enough to finally sign up! Then we laid out for hours!! It was so awesome and needed. We got a bit sunburned but I didn't even care one iota! In one section of the resort there is a lazy river (didn't flow very well) and a few slides for the kids which we also had to check out of course :) The swim-up pool bar was excellent and I figured out that the tastiest drink there was probably a mud-slide or something similar that's name is escaping me right now. While at the pool, I overheard someone next to me saying "Iowa" and "Mason City" and so I of course had to ask them if they were from there. They said yes. I went to the high school with the girl - nuts!! There were also SO many Iowans at this resort, as in a group of about 75 from Iowa City. Imagine: I have to go to another country to see more Iowans than in the city that I live in. Go figure. We grabbed a quick lunch of jerk sausage (spicy, but good) and cheese friends and then packed for our little evening excursion! Our driver for the tour picked up a few other people at other resorts and then we drove to Falmouth which was a very busy and "lived in" old town. We were a bit earlier than another tour bus we were meeting, so our driver took us to Juici Patties, which is a popular chain in Jamaica for meat patties. I got a beef one and it was delicious! It was also only about $2! Next, we had a walking tour of Falmouth and learned a bit about the history of the town as well as some Jamaican history as well. It was a good tour, and the tour guide was great - she knew EVERYONE as we were walking around and this was when we really got to hear the Jamaician's speaking Jamaican to each other - it's almost indiscernible even though it's English. Very fascinating. Finally it was time to go to the Luminous Lagoon! When we got there, we changed into our swimsuits and then hopped on a boat to drive out to the best part of the lagoon for seeing the bio-luminescence that occurs. Julie and I were lucky enough to sit up on the top so we could really see the glowing start to happen right away. The Luminous Lagoon is an area that is partially saltwater and partially fresh-water and a place where these bio-luminescent organisms live. During the day (particularly sunny days), these organism absorb the rays of the sun and then at night in the pitch black (seriously VERY few lights were on on the boat), you can see them glow whenever they are disturbed. Therefore, if you hop in and swim with them, YOU start glowing. So neat!
Before we departed, we were given a rum punch if we wanted it and boy was it strong! But it was leaps and bounds better than the nasty orange rum they use at the resort. Now that we had some Jamaican rum in our bellies it was time to get into the rather warm, shallow water. The bottom of the water was this very soft/silty/muddy stuff that was honestly kind-of creepy so I just tread water most of the time. But soon enough I was completely distracted from it by HOW FREAKING COOL it was that I was glowing. I was swimming and moving all around and having a blast! Until a baby jellyfish stung me on my lower back and then I started thinking about what other things were in there (remember it's pitch black and you can't see anything), so I got out but I still stuck my feet in a bit. It was so cool that even when you got out if you still had some water on you that happened to have some of the organisms in it, your skin glowed! Such a great experience that I would highly recommend! We got back kind-of late to the resort, so only the buffet was open for dinner, so we grabbed some food, washed off the gross mud, then went to bed. A successful day :) Day 5: Our last day we had a few hours left in the morning to lay out again because the weather was pretty nice! Then we packed everything up and headed back home. We had no problems this time with our trek back to Boston (thankfully) and made it home safely. Overall, it was a nice, relaxing (well-rested), and fun trip! This list is long (so clearly I've been to a lot of states), so I'm not going to give much of an introduction. Here's the list of all of the states I've visited: Alabama: I've been to Selma and Montgomery twice for service trips during college. Corn nuggets forever, man. Arizona: I've driven through and been to the Grand Canyon in 7th grade. Arkansas: In my sophomore year of high school I went on a mission trip with my church through YouthWorks to Marvell, Arkansas. California: Believe it or not, before 4 years ago, I had never set food in the great state of California (except for LAX which doesn't count). But now, on two separate trips I've visited San Francisco, Chico, Sonoma area, Bay area, Fresno, Los Angeles, and San Diego! Colorado: I've been here many a times because I have family in Colorado Springs, but it doesn't mean I don't try and visit every chance I get! The PLA (Public Library Association) conference is in Denver this year and I am SO excited! I love Colorado! Connecitcut: Besides my Megabus driving through it, I hadn't been until this past fall when I visited a friend and we tailgated the UCONN Homecoming game outside of Hartford. Random, I know. Hopefully a mini-trip to New Haven is in the works for this summer! Delaware: When I was about 10, we took a big summer trip to the D.C. general area, and along this trip my mom, the genealogist, made us drive to Delaware to visit some long-lost (now found) family member. Maybe someday I'll make it back there to visit Dogfish Head brewery - about the only reason I would head back. Florida: I've been here more than I've been to some of the states I grew up around, and it's mostly because of Disney World. I've been a whopping 5 times (and I loved every visit), and I've also been to a few of the beaches, West Palm area, and St. Augustine (the cauuuutest town ever). Georgia: Mostly I had just driven through Georgia, but I have technically been to Savannah (for the whole 3 hours we were there). Obviously, it's a place I'd like to go back to (Savannah) and I'd like to visit Atlanta sometime as well. Idaho: Here is my first state (of only a few) that I count because I've driven through them, but not technically visited. I'm trying to remedy that and so sometime (not in the near future, I think), I need to hit up Idaho! Illinois: Been here many a times considering it borders my home state. I love Chicago and to this day, my favorite museum is still the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, IL! And the most adorable town is Galena, Illinois, which is just across the border from Dubuque, IA. Indiana: Another state that I have only ever driven through, so to really count it in the future, I should probably visit there. Maybe someday in the future when I live in Chicago (fingers crossed), I'll hop on over the line into Indiana and check out Three Floyds Brewery. Iowa: Duh. Kansas: I've driven through here, but also I have visited a few places for our domestic choir tours at Wartburg, namely Overland Park, Kansas and I think we may have been to Wichita too. Kentucky: A state that I have only driven through so far, but Louisville is a place I'd really like to visit sometime in the nearish future, so we'll make it official with that. Louisiana: Very recently have I visited Louisiana for the first time when I visited New Orleans in October. Maine: Now that I live in New England, I've been to this state a few times-but I could always go more :) I've visited Portland, Freeport, and Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park. Maryland: I know that when I visited D.C. when I was younger we drove around/through Maryland because of its proximity to D.C., but I hadn't really BEEN there until this year, when I visited Baltimore and also when I took my trip down to Boonsboro to meet Nora Roberts. Massachusetts: I live here, so yeah. Minnesota: I grew up only 30 minutes from the border and have been to the Twin Cities many a time (mostly the Mall of America), but I've been to a few other places in Minnesota as well, include way up in Duluth for a choir tour. Mississippi: Another state that I have only driven through, and I gotta say-this is one that it will probably be a long time before I try and remedy that and actually visit. Missouri: Driven through here a bunch and been to St. Louis a time or two. This year, I'm going to visit Kansas City as well and I'm really excited! Montana: Ok, this one is another that I "drove" through-probably only for a few miles to get to our hotel that we were staying in there while visiting Yellowstone. No worries though, I have every intention of visiting MT again because I really want to see Glacier National Park. Nebraska: Driven through here a few times to go to Colorado (boring, but fast-speed limit is 75), and been to Omaha and Lincoln for choir tours. Nevada: I visited Las Vegas when I was in 7th grade. We spent the whole time at Wet 'n' Wild. Clearly, I need to revisit this place! Also, Tahoe looks beautiful and somebody it'd be cool to visit! New Hampshire: I've been to Portsmouth (a really awesome coastal city) and Dover a few times and I really like the area! New Jersey: When I first visited NYC in high school for a choir trip, we stayed in New Jersey. Does that count? I'm counting it, but I suppose someday I'll check out Atlantic City or the Jersey Shore some. New Mexico: So far, only driven through here but Santa Fe is on my list to visit and I have a friend who lives in nearby Albuquerque, so it'll happen! New York: NYC is one of my favorite places ever! Also have visited Albany, the Finger Lakes (highly recommend), and Buffalo! North Carolina: I had driven through here a few years ago for an amazing Gentlemen of the Road concert in St. Augustine and we stayed with my friend's aunt and went to a brewery in the weirdest town name ever: Fuquay-Varina. More recently, I visited my friend in Charlotte, NC and we took a day-trip to Asheville-which I am now obsessed with! North Dakota: I wish I remembered where exactly we were, but the summer after my freshman year of high school I went on a mission trip with my church to North Dakota through YouthWorks, where we worked with kids and painted houses. My favorite part was a native dance of sorts that we went to on or near the reservation, that the Native Americans put on, it was really beautiful! After a bit of research on the YouthWorks site, I didn't see any trip to North Dakota. Either they no longer do that trip, or this whole time it was really in South Dakota (embarassing). Either way, I should probably go to Fargo sometime. Ohio: For the most part, I have only driven through this state but I have stopped in both Cincinnati and Cleveland on the Megabus multiple times and once I even met up for dinner with some library friends in Cleveland! So yes, I've been to Ohio. Oklahoma: Another stop on a choir tour was in Tulsa, Oklahoma where we performed at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center (I think) with Simon Estes and a famous soprano or alto singer that I can't remember and I feel really bad about not remembering that (oh well). Oregon: When I was younger and I took a trip with my family to Washington and British Columbia, we also visited family in Salem and Portland. I don't remember much about this part of the trip except for I tried salmon for the first time and hated it (now I don't), and that we went to the Multnomah Falls-beautiful! Pennsylvania: On that trip to D.C. when I was younger that took me to Delaware and such, we also stopped at Gettysburg in PA, because I was a history nerd even at 10. I also lived in Pittsburgh for a year and loved it SO much, and I've also visited various parts of Pennsylvania in the last few years, including Philly a couple times. Rhode Island: Since moving to New England, it's helped me visit a lot more of the states that I hadn't been to, and so I am glad to say that I've been to the smallest state three times! Twice to Providence (where I ran my first 5k) and once to Newport-which is beautiful! South Carolina: I've driven through this one, but haven't actually stopped. So it's on my list to "revisit" if you will. Or to visit so I can officially count it! South Dakota: During my family's "big trip across the west" when I was 12, we hit up a number of states and monuments: Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and of course, South Dakota-had to see Mount Rushmore! Tennessee: I'm a huge country music fan, and so of COURSE I've been to Nashville and absolutely loved it. In the summer of 2011 I visited there with my best friend for the best week in country music, the CMA Music Festival-it was AMAZING and it's where I fell in with fried pickles. Texas: My first time in Texas was in 2009 when I did a service trip through Wartburg to Galveseton for disaster relief. It was a good trip, but I didn't feel like I really experienced Texas and so that's why I'm glad I was able to do my Texas trip last year where I visited San Antonio, Austin, and Houston (briefly). Utah: I've only been the once and it was on the "grand west" trip in 7th grade. I've driven past Great Salt Lake and all it's smelliness, visited the Olympic park in Salt Lake City, and I fondly remember my first real visit to a Hibachi grill there (random, but it's what I remember). Vermont: My first time in Vermont was a day trip from Boston to go to Ben & Jerry's. Seriously. We also happened to have one of the best beers in the country, Heady Topper, as well as ate some delicious food! I also stopped in Burlington on my way back from Quebec in 2014, and I LOVED the city nestled about Lake Champlain, very beautiful and adorable.
Virginia: On our trip to D.C. when I was 10, we spent 3 DAYS in Williamsburg. Far too many, but I've still never had a better chicken pot pie than I did at King's Arms Tavern. Aside from that, we visited Mount Vernon as well and of course, I've been to Arlington National Cemetery a couple of times. Adding a real city to my list in April - Richmond. Washington: I've been to Washington 3 times now and Seattle is a city I adore. My first trip was when I was 8 or 9 and we visited Seattle, but also did more of the outdoorsy things as well and I saw the ocean for the first time in Washington! I've also been back as an adult for a conference in Seattle and a wedding in Olympia! West Virginia: I've had the pleasure of spending quite a few weekends in Morgantown, WV visiting some friends from study abroad. Morgantown is only about 1.5 hours away from Pittsburgh and so it was a fun weekend trip every now and then! I know it gets knocked down a lot, but it really is a beautiful landscape and I like how low-key it is. Also if you are ever in Morgantown, do yourself a favor and eat at Black Bear. Wisconsin: Going to the Wisconsin Dells was probably my first trip to this state way back when I was oh, I don't know, 3 or 4. But since then I've been there for hockey tournaments (my friend's brothers), and choir trips (Wausau and Madison) and now more recently more of Madison which is an awesome town and it helps that one of my best friends lives there :) Wyoming: Haven't been to much more than Yellowstone National Park, but really is there a lot more to visit than that? Whew, so close! Maybe by the time I'm 30 I can achieve it? I think I'll try :) Considering I thought that Mike Posner and his songs were super overrated 5 years ago when he was huge, I am really really loving his new song "I Took A Pill in Ibiza". The beat is excellent and definitely the best part, but I even love the lyrics because they are funny and he's basically saying that he thought he was the shit back when he first came on the scene and it turns out that he SO isn't and now he's "old". I don't know, I just love it and can't get enough of it :) Check it out! It's about time I write about how much I am in love with the food delivery service, Blue Apron. I've just been saving up on appetizing pictures of the food I've made from their recipes. Blue Apron is a service that sends you a box full of ingredients needed to make the 3 meals (for example) that I have signed up for. There are a couple different plans, but I am signed up for the 2-person plan meaning 3 separate meals for 2 people are sent to me. This turns into at the absolute least 6 meals, but portions can be big so I can often stretch it into more meals. The full host of fresh ingredients, save for salt and pepper and olive oil come in a box with large ice packs to keep it cool, delivered right to your doorstep. Recipe cards are also included, and thus far the recipes have been very tasty! I'll make this relatively short and sweet though, explaining the many reasons why I love Blue Apron.
Basically, I love it and I will continue using the service for quite awhile. Right now I get about 2 deliveries a month, and this seems about right! Below are some of my creations from Blue Apron, enjoy! |
Welcome!Hi all! My name is Laura and I decided to start a blog about the things I am most passionate about, namely: Food, traveling, reading, watching TV and movies, and listening to music. I'm a Midwesterner living in Nashville, and I am a librarian. Categories
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