On the Road Eats: Boston

I recently took a trip up to Boston for a friend's birthday. Before heading out of New York, I stopped at El Quinto Pino for breakfast and fueled up for the road with a Bikini sandwich, ham and cheese and a bit of truffle oil pressed between two slices of a flaky, buttery bread.

A long ride in the car of course left me famished. Our late afternoon lunch stop: Coppa. It was the perfect place to share a few small plates, still leaving room for dinner in a few hours.

We were able to sit outside on a lovely, warm day and because this wasn't a terribly busy street, it was quite peaceful.

Tuna Crudo: Charred cippolini onions, black radish and parsley

Chicken liver crostini 

Warm salt cod crostini

 Wood roasted octopus, farro and salsa verde

One of the special salumi recommended by the waitress.

Pig’s ear terrine with yuzu aioli

The salt cod was my favorite — it was smooth, like mashed potatoes and different than I'd ever had salt cod. The pig's ear terrine was interesting, with a flavor that hewed close to the flavor of Chinese food; my dining companions were turned off by the gelatinous texture. The octopus was not at all what we expected, but in a good way — the green sauce had a unique flowery taste to it.

After lunch, we made a stop at one of my favorite ice cream places in Boston, Toscanini's. I constructed a perfect cone of Afternoon Tea (which had bits of a lemon teacake in it) and Peanut Butter Fudge. I'd taken a risk on the peanut butter, which could have been too chocolatey, but this was an amazing rendition, more peanut buttery than fudgey.