A couple weeks ago, my family came to visit me in Boston. As always, I had crafted a master eating journey for us to follow. Here it is!

SALEM

First off, we headed to Salem (only thirty minutes away) to see some of the exhibits at the Peabody Essex Museum, which has to be one of the coolest museums I’ve been to in the United States. It included topics beyond the Salem Witch Trials, including fashion exhibits, Chinese architecture installation, and an exhibit on breathing. Six minutes after our time at the museum, we found ourself at our first restaurant: Bambolina.

BAMBOLINA, pizza

While Boston is home to the beloved Regina pizzeria, my taste buds miss a good Neopolitan pizza. Bambolina got great reviews, so we decided to dine there. We started off with the garden salad, which included shaved carrots, radishes, zesty vinaigrette, and herbs – it was delicious. The marinara pizza itself was a little more burnt and crispy than a typical Neopolitan pizza, but the bite was still delicious, with a generous amount of flavorful tomato sauce. Having stopped by Pemberton farms earlier in the day, my mom and I yelped to see Miyoko’s smoked mozzarella on the shelves, which we later happily dolloped onto our pizzas. It made it.

JOLIE TEA COMPANY, tea and French desserts

The Jolie Tea Company boasts an extensive list of teas categorized by black, green, oolong, and herbal varieties. My choice was La Belle Rose which was a black and green tea infused with notes of vanilla, lavender, rose, jasmine, and bergamot – essentially all my favorite scents and flowers rolled into a warming, soothing tea. The tea sommelier was super knowledgeable about the teas and was helpful in navigating us around the long list. The only thing missing was a scone!

CAMBRIDGE

Back to Cambridge. For breakfast, I wanted to share the most delicious bagels I had ever come across.

IGGY’S BREAD, bread & pastries

I may be from the tristate area, but Cambridge-based Iggy’s bagels have my heart. While Iggy’s has its own bakery, their products can be found all over the city in local supermarkets, coffee shops, and restaurants. I had the absolute most insane bagel at Darwin’s Ltd several weeks ago called the “Tempeh Tantrum” which was an Iggy’s bagel with house-marinated tempeh, avocado, tahini aioli, and pickled onions. My stomach was so happy afterwards.

So naturally, I wanted to share this bagel bliss with my family, but instead of going to Darwin’s, we went to Pemberton Farms to get a nice basket of bagels for breakfast 🙂 Iggy’s bagels are wholesome, filling, and have the malti-ness of Montreal-style bagels.

TALULLA, globally-inspired & seasonal

Instead of Easter lunch, my family opted for an Easter eve dinner. Named after the the owners’ daughter, Talulla is a small family-owned fine dining restaurant in Cambridge. They offer a seven-course tasting menu as well as a la carte. What did we get?

• Housemade sourdough bread with olive oil. This sourdough was hearty and fluffy.
• Chickpea panisse with mushrooms and fermented cauliflower. My dad’s dish was probably my favorite. The chickpea panisse reminded me of a better version of polenta french fries, and the fermented cauliflower was cauliflower at its best.
• Miso cod dish with bok choy, vidalia onion, turnip purée. My mom deemed this to be the best cod she has ever had. Enough said.
• Chicken with hedgehog mushrooms, pommes purée, thyme jus. My brother – at first perplexed by the term “jus” (juice) – ended up loving this chicken dish, in addition to the whipped potatoes.
• Spinach tagliatelle with soft poached egg, white asparagus, herbs, and crispy parmigiano.  I decided to have a little bit of dairy that day (and bracing myself for the after-effects). Every bite of this pasta was different from the next. As the poached egg oozed, it cooked slightly with the warm bowl and pasta, creating its own carbonara sauce in a way.
• Olive oil cake with orange and vanilla ice cream. My brother loved this cake and ice cream, and was tempted to get another serving.

By the end of this meal, we already placed a reservation for the next time my parents are in town. Every single dish blew us away.

If you’re looking to support local restaurants in your area, check out my other food guides:

• New York
• Boston
• London
• Toronto