Blog Buddies & Dinner at Harvest

It still never ceases to amaze me how awesome the blog community is. When I found out that Lauren was coming to Boston for a blog conference, I immediately offered up any advice she may need while she was here and possibly even the prospect of meeting up while she was here. That message turned into my picking her up from the airport and then having a delicious dinner at Harvest in Cambridge on Friday night.

I love “hosting” people, whether it’s picking them up from somewhere, dropping them off somewhere or having them stay at my place. In anticipation for her arrival, David cleaned the inside of my car, and I stopped by a local gift shop to pick up some Boston related gifts: a t-shirt, coffee mug, and chocolate covered cranberries.

And she was SO sweet to have gotten me a few gifts as well: granola, oat bran, peanut butter, chocolate, a Starbucks gift card, and peanut butter kandy kakes from Pennsylvania! She knows the way to my heart.

For dinner, I had originally wanted to go to Henrietta’s Table, but they didn’t have any tables available. Harvest was the next best thing for local and sustainable food. I had been there twice for concierge dinners and always enjoyed it.

For wine to start, we both had the malbec. It was not too dry and had a great bite to it.

I love the bread at this restaurant too. It was corn bread and a raisin nut bread.

For dinner, there weren’t very many vegetarian options. It’s a small menu anyway so it has one option for each taste (beef, chicken, fish, etc.). I had the housemade butter cup squash ravioli with smoked Maitake mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, toasted hazelnuts & brown butter mushroom froth.

Despite how small this dish was it was packed with flavor. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the squash inside was sweet and flavorful. The Brussels sprouts were cooked so that there was still a bit of a crunch to them and I loved that the sauce didn’t overwhelm their natural taste. And the hazelnuts were a great addition to the dish; to give it some crunch.

Overall, the service and ambiance were wonderful. We were able to keep a conversation (which never ceased!) and my water glass was always full.

For dessert, instead of getting anything at the restaurant, we went to JP Lick’s instead. There was a long line waiting for the Pinkberry, but thankfully JP Lick’s was quick to get through. I had the coffee chip hard yogurt. Perfect ending to a wonderful night!

Have you made any “in-real-life” friends through blogging? I love how many people I have connected with over the past year and a half. And I hope it continues!

Tagged as: bloggers, harvard square, Harvest, ice cream