I said a few posts back that I'd write a bit about my recent trip to Boston, so here we go.

My brother and I had tickets to a Springsteen concert....my 7th, his 4th. Instead of a sensible 1-hour flight, we opted to drive. It can be a bit of a death march, but the weather was good, Interstates are always a breeze, and even though it was well into November, there was still a good amount of pretty leaves on the trees.

On the way through Maine, we stopped by author Stephen King's house. I'm not much of a celebrity-seeker, but this was too cool to pass up. Don't know if you can see this much detail, but the front gates have little bats on them.

Even though Springsteen was the official reason for the trip, the real highlight was rifling down as much local food and beer as humanly possible. One of the first places we tried was a place called Gilley's Diner in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Like most of these older places (1912), the diner itself used to be an old Rail Car.

I'm guessing by the size of the benches at Gilley's, people's arses were a lot smaller back then. Then again, chances are they weren't throwing down two Chili Dogs at a time, like I was.

Further down the 95, after checking in at the Hilton, it was off to the legendary Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus. Apparently, the Hilltop was the inspiration for the Hungry Heifer, Norm Peterson's favourite restaurant on Cheers. Every meal includes a coupon for twenty bucks off on a Double Bypass.

The next morning called for a trip to the Owl Diner in Lowell. We didn't have a fancy-pants GPS system, so we printed off the directions in the Hilton Business center, and hit the road before the mid-morning rush.

Once again, it's an old railway car...

That's the Eggs Benedict, with nice, thick pieces of ham. Fast, friendly service, and a ton of food. Plus, some Elvis on the jukebox. Can't help but think that the King himself would be pleased with the secret ingredient...We looked behind the counter, and saw the cook dumping a pitcher of whipped butter onto a grill full of home fries.

With our arteries screaming for mercy, we eventually hopped on the T in Cambridge. Our first stop was Harvard Square, and after a brisk fall walk through the Harvard campus (even the squirrels had a higher GPA than I could ever hope for), we hopped back to Davis Square, to hit a few bars, before launching a BBQ siege at Redbones.

My wife and I had eaten there earlier in the year, and I was astounded at the amount of food we got. Naturally, I thought of my brother as I was hauling the doggie bags back with us. Steve and I had done a similar BBQ pilgrimage to Texas a couple years back, and we had to add Redbones to our field of study. All in the interest of science, you understand. If you're a BBQ geek, you'll be interested in the different styles of ribs...St. Louis, Memphis, Texas, just to name a few.

Ribs, brisket, catfish, beer. Then more ribs. You get the idea...

http://www.redbones.com/

Off to the concert...not going to go too into detail, but I'lll say I've never left disappointed from a Springsteen show. The missus and I will be seeing him in Montreal in the Spring.

On the way back, our only stop was at the Maine Diner

http://www.mainediner.com/

It's in Wells, Maine, and while it was definitely the most touristy place we visited, the food and service was top-notch. I had heard about their Shrimp and Cheddar omelette, and had to try one. With a couple of slices of rye toast, and about a gallon of coffee, we were more than ready for the long drive home.