Kitchen Misfit Archives - I am a Honey Bee

I don’t get Patriots’ Day off at work, but I occasionally take the day off to see the runners instead of just crowding around the TV to see the top finishers and to watch a bit during lunch. I took yesterday off because some awesome Boston food bloggers, such as Amanda and Meghan, were running and I was hoping to cheer them on. Or at least the rest of the thousands of runners.

When the weather reports were shifting the temperatures from the 60’s to the 80’s I was ecstatic. I love hot weather and I was getting a special treat on my day off! Ah, a real shorts and tank top day!! While I might have been so excited about it, the thousands of runners making their way on the 26.2 mile course were not. This was going to be safety issue for a lot of people because their bodies have not trained for this sort of heat before. It resulted in some people deferring to race next year.

I’m really glad that I was able to cheer on the runners as it is always so much fun. Sure the city is a zoo and it is horrible to get around but it’s still a lot of fun to experience something that is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication for a lot of people. Like Ashley of Hither and Thither in her post about the NYC maration I get a little “verklempt” watching the runners. There is something so special about the day watching these runners accomplish something so great. They are tired, hot, weary, but they push on and you can see it in their eyes how happy, exhausted, and proud they are when they continue on to pass the finish line.

Alright, here is a little recap of my day…

Got off at Arlington T stop and walked up the Pru side. I had to get as far over at Huntington to continue my making my way up. When I was in the Copely area the women’s top finishers were starting to cross.

I continue up and crossed through the Prudential Mall and exited on Boylston St. This area was pack of people and tents giving out food and drinks = mad house (Why must you grab 6 10-pack boxes of energy drink mix? WHY?)

I ended up stationing myself right against the fence right in front of Hynes Convention Center- intersection of Gloucester and Boylston Streets. This put me right about at the 26 mile mark.

When these 3 soldiers were approaching in full gear the crowds cheering picked up and it was deafening. These were the first of many soldiers to be in full gear. I can’t imagine that because was so hot (hot even in the shade) and so heavy.

The Syracuse ROTC also made an appearance marching along.

This guy was in support of USA as well, but in his own unique way.

This moment was so sweet. This guy was running by and his cheering family caught his attention so he ran over and was hugging his son and talking to him about doing it. Just a few seconds but totally unforgettable.

I’m impressed he didn’t loose his Minnie Mouse ears.

Patriotism on Patriots Day.

High-five!

The women around me were tracking and cheering on their husbands. When they were approaching I just starting snapping pics. Good job #6634 and #1859!!!!!

Shortly after the husbands of the wives standing next to me ran by, I decided to move on to another area to get another vantage point. I walked up to Mass Ave, turned down on Newbury and then found a spot on the West side of Hereford Street. (The big concrete building on the right edge of the photo was my college) I ended up being next to a group of guys who were so loud cheering everyone on. They would read the names written on their arms, text on their shirt, or just start screaming “GO BLUE SHIRT GUY!!!! ALMOST THERE!!!!!!” It was awesome. I don’t think they’ll have voices today.

This guy was running barefoot! Crazy!

Amanda… this one’s for you!

This little guy stole the show at this point because he was running along side his mom(?) and was going crazy getting the crowd to cheer.

At around 3.15 I left to head into work for a brief 4pm meeting. The T was crazy. The MBTA did a good job (at least from what I saw) of handling the influx of passengers. There was a lot of traffic underground because of all the trains so my ride took so long but it was still very orderly and all the instructions were very clear.

Although I didn’t get to meet up with my friends as planned because of the crowds, road closures, and timing it was a perfect day.

Oh Hell Night, you rocked my world.

Last night I had the pleasure of attending my first Mystery Meet event. This was the 7th event that Mystery Meet organized, and it happened to be at East Coast Grill. If you are not familiar with East Coast Grill, then I should explain that this restaurant hosts an event 2 times a year called Hell Night. What is Hell Night? It’s an excuse for you to burn your mouth, lips, fingers, etc while your man up to a plate of super spicy food.

Mystery Meet provides 5 clues about the restaurant where the event will be occurring so you have a hint of the location when you purchase your tickets, but the big reveal occurs the day before the event. After the first clue “If you can’t take the heat, get your ass outta the kitchen.” I was 90% positive that it was going to be East Coast Grill since it is known for Hell Night and that is the hottest place in the Boston area. It was even featured on Man vs. Food during it’s first season. Hell Night is a major event so it is nearly impossible to get a reservation since they sell out within hours, and this was my big chance to go! In fact, Price and I were driving back form Montreal when the tickets for Mystery Meet were released, which resulted in ridiculous amounts of swearing at the VT mountains that were messing up my 3G connection. Thankfully, AT&T pulled through, and we got tickets.:-)

Prior to attending the event, Price and I met Jacki from Just Add Cheese, her friend Darius, and Amanda from Kitchen Misfit at the neighboring bar, Bukowski Tavern. We shared stories and suggestions of beer, hot sauces, chicken and waffles, pancake places, brunch spots, etc.

The Hell Night menu for the Mystery Meet event did not disappoint. The menu offered several shared appetizers, 2 entrée choices, and dessert. There were bomb ratings after each item warning us of what pain we were going to experience. One thing you can’t prepare for is the Meatball Roulette, the first appetizer. This really is a game of chance, one in which I lost. That spicy meatball provided a deep slow burn that hit the back of my tongue and seemed to last forever. Immediately, my body did not like this sudden jolt and responded with hiccups. Yes, weird.

Next up were the Smokin’ Hot Pork Spare Ribs. These were rated 3 bombs… lie! Our table agreed that this was the hottest thing of the night. However, we did not know this was really miss rated, and were then extremely fearful of the 8 bomb rating that was going to be coming shortly. It was also that this point that we all agreed that no one would wimp out and get milk.

Just when things couldn’t get worse, the Wings of Mass Destruction arrived on our table. Happily, they not 8 bomb hot, even though they had ghost chili oil on them. I managed to eat 3 of them, however the real champ at our table was Frank who ate 5. Frank eat everything quickly and quietly suffered through the pain while the 5 of us made it really clear how much it was killing us. Frank was the champ.

The last shared appetizer was the Korean Fried Chicken Thighs. These were “caliente, not picante” as explained by Darius. I think that I enjoyed these the most because the heat was in the gochujang dipping sauce. Also, the apple kim chee helped cool things off with the contrasting cool crisp fruit.

Price and I got each entrée so we could sample them both. The Latin Spice Grilled Mahi Mahi (2 bombs) was cooked perfectly and provided enough heat without being troublesome. Price’s Jamaican Jerk Grilled Pork Chop (6 bombs) was also manageable because the heat was from a dipping sauce. However, the mashed sweet potatoes still had some kick with some curry so Price had little relief there. There was so much extra of our entrées that he got to relive the heat again today for lunch.

The Mango Berry Crisp dessert was fantastic, but put us over the top on food consumption. Thankfully, the ice cream did help cool things down.

Both Mystery Meet and East Coast Grill did a fantastic time organizing and hosting this event. I really look forward to attending another event, which occurs the second Tuesday of the month.

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