Before I moved to New England, Janet and I were Food Channel addicts. We knew all the big names, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Paula Dean, Ina Garten, Alton Brown, etc. Janet’s favorite cookbook was by Anne Burrell, who’s recipe for risotto is out of this world. We loved watching Iron Chef, The Next Iron Chef, Japanese Iron Chef, Chopped, Cupcake Wars, etc.

In Missouri, our favorite restaurant was Julian in Brookside, a neighborhood in mid-town Kansas City. Celina Tio, a James Beard award winning chef was the proprietor of this charming establishment. Her celebrity chef status included appearances on Top Chef Masters, Iron Chef, and The Next Iron Chef. Kansas City is also home to one of PBS chef Lidia Bastianich’s restaurants, too.

After moving to New England, we got a little bored of the Food Network as all their shows tended to follow the same formula, script, and celebrity chefs. However, our desire to try their food still lingers. A couple of years ago, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, Lidia’s husband, opened Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca on the Boston waterfront. With nothing to do on a Sunday morning, we made reservations at Babbo’s to see if it lived up to our expectations.

It was a gorgeous day so we decided get there before our reservation to walk along the harbor and enjoy the sunshine. In May, we’d gone to 75 on Liberty Wharf, a few blocks away. The views from these harborside eateries are awesome. We found a little pocket park called Fan Pier park and enjoyed watching the boats sail in and out of the harbor. The park provides an amazing view of the financial district skyline.

Both of us ordered pizza at Babbo’s. I’m not going to say that their pizza was out of this world, but it was certainly some of the better I’ve tasted. Being a Sunday morning, it wasn’t very crowded, but I could see where this would be a fun place to go to at night with friends. I suppose even a celebrity chef that specializes in Italian food would find it difficult to stand out among the dozens of excellent restaurants in the North End and other parts of Boston.

After lunch, we walked through the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.  This park lies between the lanes of the John F. Kennedy Expressway and Atlantic Ave, and above I-93. During the 90’s, and early 2000’s Boston engaged in a project called The Big Dig. Among other things, they buried I-93 under the city in a massive tunnel. Above the tunnel was restructured as a pedestrian friendly parkway with gardens, fountains, and artwork. On summer weekends, vendors set up kiosks to display crafts, art, jewelry, and other curios. This is a great improvement over the multi-story freeway that used to cut off the North End and the Waterfront from the rest of the city.

The first part of the walkway includes greenery and rose bushes. Sometimes it’s so thick you forget you’re in the middle of the city.  Like the Botanical Gardens in St. Louis, and Central Park in New York, Janet and I love these manufactured Edens in the middle of the city. A beautiful day, a good pizza for lunch, and an urban garden are a perfect little adventure for a lazy Sunday morning.

 

 

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller