Monthly Archives: November 2023

Boston 2023

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First time in Boston! Staying downtown at the Hyatt Regency. Chose this area mainly because of the tourist attractions that are close by.

Landed around 4pm at BOS, and took about 30 minutes to get to the hotel (apparently traffic isn’t the greatest in Boston according to the Uber driver).

After settling in the hotel, walked around to try and find whisky. CVS does not carry it, but Apparently one of their grocery chains, Roche Brothers did (they also had a bunch of things liked cooked food. Will say their floor layout was a bit confusing).

After, got some free clam chowder from the hotel (clam chowder is a thing in Boston).

After, went for dinner at Ruka Restobar, which is a 2 minute walk from the hotel. Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/22/ruka-restobar/

After, from the recommendation of the bartender at Ruka, went to a speak easy that was a block away called the Wig Shop. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/22/the-wigs-shop-speakeasy/

Ended the night by going to a g thing called Cafe Bar. Will say age range was all of the place, but I guess can’t expect much on a Tuesday night.

Tips from Bar Tender at Ruka: would stay next time I would stay around the Cambridge area. Apparently that’s where you can bar hop (likely because of the college crowd).

The next day (Wednesday before Thanksgiving), I started off my going to the Museum of Science to meet up with the Boston Duck Tour group. The tour drove around downtown, Boston Commons, and the Back Bay. And then went into the Charles River. Here are some facts I learned on the bus ride:

  • First chocolate factory in US was in Boston
  • Boston was founded in 1630
  • Puritans landed in 1630 to the peninsula now known as Boston (there was only one person there back then, and the Puritans renamed it Boston)
  • Omni Park Boston is the oldest operating hotel here (~1850)
  • John Adam (2nd President) defended the British soldiers of the Boston Massacre (but was an American)
  • Back Bay is called that because it used to be a river, and it was filled in.
  • Beacon Hills is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the US
  • Sam Adams – Beantown pub is the only place you can get a cold Sam Adam’s staring at his grave
  • Boston Tea Party – colonists threw tea into the river to not pay taxes to the British for the tea. British put Boston under Marshall law
  • Cambridge is a different city from Boston (founded in the same year)
  • The Big Dig is the largest spanning Bridge in the US
  • I93 is mainly underground to avoid traffic
  • The type of vessel the “duck” is based on is a replica of. World war 2 boat (Duck was a codename for the vessel)

The boat/bus tour ended back at the Museum of Science (fyi Duck tour was excellent… tour guide gave great facts and good jokes). Unfortunately couldn’t go tour it because I needed to go to my next tour (I did however get a quick bite (a quesadilla) and coffee).

The next tour I did is a walking tour of the Freedom Trail (the sites downtown). There are 4 other sites outside of downtown, one of which I visited later. During this tour, here is what I recall remembering at each site

  • Boston Common – you can do a lot of things there like raise cattle (even until this day), and duels (which are illegal now). Also I think this is the site where the first guy to live in Boston met the Puritans (in 1630 this happened, and they were Catholics)
  • Massachusetts State House (don’t recall too much about that one)
  • Granary Burial Ground – Sam Adams, Paul Revere graves are there, plus John Hancock Memorial (and across the street you can get a cold Sam Adams from the Beantown Pub)
  • Park Street Church – might be the first Catholic church in Boston
  • King’s Chapel Burial Ground – first Anglican Church (it was ordered to be built by Britain to show they still had control)
  • Old South Meeting House
  • Boston Massacre Site – (I think) 5 Americans got killed by British Soldiers. In England this is known as the Unfortunate Incident on King St
  • Old State House (don’t recall too much of this either)
  • Faneuil Hall (don’t recall too much of this either)

I would definitely recommend this tour. The tour guide was excellent in his jokes and his acting.

After the tour, since we were right at Quincy Market, went inside and looked for a lobster roll (lobster rolls are also a thing in Boston). Got one at Boston & Maine Fish Company. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/23/boston-maine-fish-company/

After, went to one of the Freedom Trail sites outside downtown, Paul Revere’s House.

After, visited the Holocaust Memorial. Definitely very sad.

After, stopped by the Cheers pub (the one from the show!) for a drink. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/23/cheers/

After, spent a few hours in the hotel sleeping, then got room service (a pasta dish and Boston Cream Cheese, which I might as well try while in Boston).

Then went out for a night clubbing at Royale (in the theater district) to see Vintage Culture. Club was already packed by 11:30pm. Opening DJ went on at 12am, and done at 2am.

When I flew out the next day, I stopped by the Chase Sapphire Lounge. Overall, lounge looks great. Only drawback is I think I like the food at the Amex lounges better (at the Chase lounge you have to order the good food, which makes you not be able to select the quantity you want). I will say though they did have Toki Highballs, so that won me over. Will also say that the lounge was located the very last number of the B gates, and my flight was B1 (so entered through the B40 security, and then walked to B1 for 15 minutes, but still within security).

That’s basically wraps up my first time at Boston. Here are some things I would try for next time:

  • Newbury St is where some high end stores are (at Backbay)
  • Nick’s Comedy club (oldest and best comedy club in Boston)… should go next time
  • Boston Public library is more of a free art museum, and it has a bar
  • John F Kennedy statue (he was from Boston and casted his vote there)
  • Chicken and Rice Guys?
  • Maybe stay in Cambridge and check out the EDM scene and bar hop around there (288 Green St had Dubfire play there, and it was sold out)

New York City (Lower East Side) + Buffalo 2023

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The week before the annual Thanksgiving break that Apple gives us, I decided to work remotely in New York with a friend. I’ve mentioned before that the New York office Penn 11 is pretty sick. It’s located across Penn Station, you basically have a full sized office (first come first serve phone rooms), and there are a lot of eateries around it.

I flew out of SF around 8:25am Monday, and landed at 4:20 in EWR. Since I had meetings, I used my United Club pass to take meetings (stayed there for 2.5 hours). The EWR lounge in terminal C is one of the best United lounges, and it allows people arriving to go in them (you don’t have to book a refundable ticket).

From the airport, Ubered to our AirBnb in Hell’s Kitchen. It only took 35 minutes as there was zero traffic for some reason.

The AirBnb was not what we were expecting though (the heat was not working… so they had to buy us space heaters, and the main area was super small). The next day we ended up switching to a hotel the lower East side (which I’ll get to later).

That same night my friend and I went to a a bar called Valerie (near Rockefeller center). I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it because the food was just ok, and the bartender didn’t know what Asian glow was. We then pivoted to a speakeasy in the flat iron called Patent Pending. Details can be found here (I highly recommend this place):

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/patent-pending/

The next day (Tuesday), worked until 10:30am to 6pm. Grabbed lunch at a Mediterranean placed called Naya. Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/naya-penn-station/

After work, we met up with Jon’s friend Nick for drinks. We went to one bar near the Apple office called District Tap House. I liked the vibe there (very after work professionals type thing), and they had a full bar (could go from whisky to Aperol Spritz). We then decided to bar hop to the cafeteria area under Penn Station. Grabbed a bunch of whisky drinks there. Will say, that cafeteria in general is great and I highly recommend for just quick eating as well.

Afterwards we ended up checking into our hotel at the Lower East Side called Hotel on Rivington (we were able to get a full refund for our AirBnb, minus one night plus cleaning fees). Hotel itself is very nicely located.

Staying at the lower east side for a week sort of has given me a view of what it’s like to live in New York. Going to and from the Apple office I just need to take the F line (hotel was 5 stops away from Penn Station). Admittedly I did Uber a bunch (as I can work / use my laptop in it… however the estimates to get to work were usually off since closer to Penn station traffic becomes unpredictable). Also lots of eateries and bars close by the hotel.

Should also note that I went to the coffee place, Froth, every morning since it was so close to the hotel:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/froth/

The next day (Wednesday), worked until 6:30pm. Ate at a ramen place in the Penn Station cafe with our friend Yash. After work, we walked over from work to the Nederlander Theater to see a play called Shucked (fyi, we brought our bags, and they let us bring it in. Search was super lite). I will say the play was great. Very funny about all things related to corn. (Drinks were a bit pricey though. $40 for a double whisky on the rocks).

After the play, we ended up going back to the lower east side to a so called “speak easy” (it’s just a late night Chinese restaurant with a full bar). Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/froth/

Next day (Thursday) we started the day by going to Katz’s, where I got a pastrami sandwich and matzaball soup. Soup is fire.

After work, met up with another friend for dinner in the meat packing district called Buddakan. Really like this area and want to explore it more (Tao nightclub is close by). Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/buddakan/

Afterwards, we checked out a really great rooftop near our hotel called Mr. Purple. Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/mr-purple/

We ended the night by meeting some people in Williamsburg. Not sure what the name of the bar was, but it was a very whisky type night.

The next day (Friday) was great day, and what we did is kind of why working remote and staying the lower east side made sense. We basically started the day by going to the great bagel places called Russ and Daughters. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/russ-daughters/

Worked only a 4 hour day. At around 1pm, we did a 15 minutes walk to SoHo for some shopping. I specifically was looking for a jacket to keep me warm for the upcoming Bills game and Boston. Visited ArcTeryx and Moncler. Would’ve for a jacket at Moncler, but they didn’t have my size (and at $1700 it should fit perfectly!). So ended up getting one at ArcTeryx.

After shopping, we started the night at 7pm by bar hopping around West Village. The places I remember us hitting up are (in this order): MacDougal Street Ale House, Off the wagon, Down the Hatch (had a sick beer pong set up) No and Duplex. After duplex, things are a bit blurry. We did end off the night at a friends Eric’s place (only for like 10 minutes). Also, most people in the group, uh, became very lit.

Also, I did meet up with two other friends, Sam and Celine. We went to Off the Wagon and grabbed Chinese food around that area with the rest of the group.

The next day (Saturday) we started off by having brunch near our hotel called Sons of Essex. Full review can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/sons-of-essex/

We then had some drinks at our hotel (we had a free bottle of champagne to finish). Then walked around SoHo for some shopping. Bought some gloves at North Face. Also stopped by this Rice Pudding place:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/rice-to-riches/

We then went back to Moncler since some people in the group really wanted to check it out.

After shopping, we met up with my friend Vince, and got some Prince St Pizza:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/prince-st-pizza/

After eating, we wanted to go to a speakeasy called Attaboy, but basically had to wait a bit so we went to another place nearby for an hour called Two Doors Down (would recommend Hong back, just the music is slightly louder than expected). For Attaboy, you can read the recipe here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/19/attaboy/

We ended the night at McDonalds, bringing it back to the hotel.

The next day (Sunday) we got up at 5:30am to go to Buffalo for the Bills game. We got a hotel in downtown, the Hyatt Regency (apparently the Jets stay there during their away games). We then chilled a Jon’s friend’s place, Pete for some drinks.

Afterwards headed to the stadium for tailgating. When we got off our Uber, we were greeted to a party bus with some awesome shots. We then spent time at a bar called Prohibition 2020 (it is actually right in the middle of the tailgating action). Drank a bunch of beer, some pizza, and also did a Red Bull vodka. After, we got some beers at a gas station across the street to party at Pete’s friend’s fire truck for like 20 minutes.

Went to the game shortly after. We won! I learned some things about football. (1) there is a 4 in 10 (sometimes could be more if there is a penalty), which mainly describes how many yards (the ten in this case) needed to reset the downs. And (2) there are 5 avenues for points in a game (field goal (3), touch down (6), touch down plus kick off (6 + 1), touch down plus replay (6 + 2), and one other one). For the stadium itself, will say it is almost impossible to find hard liquor. I did end up finding one near section 140 at a very not obvious cart.

We ended the night at a bar to get Buffalo Wings called Bada Bing. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/11/21/bada-bing-sports-bar-and-grill/

And that concluded the New York experience for this trip. Honestly, really had a good time. (next day headed out to Toronto by getting a rental car through Avis).

Joshua Tree

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Although this is the second time I’ve been to Joshua tree, wanted to actually write down this one for future logistics.

First, we went here in early November. Weather during the day is actually pretty nice (around 25 degrees). However at night it can go to around 14 or 14 degrees, which is pretty cold if you’re sleeping without a heater (which we accidentally did the first night out of the three nights we’ve been here).

We stayed at an Airbnb that is 12 minutes away from the entrance of the actual national park. I think the location is pretty good (3946 Anita Ave). Also less than 20 minutes from downtown Joshua tree (where we usually got our morning coffee, at a place called Joshua Tree Coffee (haha yes, very original)).

One thing to also note is that Door Dash is available (which is useful since there was an initial stop at the Costco at Palm Springs, but some things were forgotten). Vons and other eateries were door dash able.

The Airbnb we got had a hot tub, corn hole, and pickle ball court. Utilized them fairly well during this trip.

We ended up going to Joshua Tree national park the third day we were here. We went to the trail called Skill Rock trail. It’s only 1.7 miles, but we took around 1.5 hrs with it since we stopped by to take photos. I recommend the trail because of how easy it is, and the scenes. Also it loops back to where you parked your car!

A couple of things to mention about this trip is that we did go for a friends 25th bday. And so she had some theme nights like PJ night, ABG/ABB night and cocktail dress to impress hour.