Hi- My bro is turning 40 and is spending a few months in Boston b/c his wife is on a contract job there. There isn't too much to 'buy' for him so I was thinking of something really great to 'do'. Budget is a few hundred dollars ($300ish) and he is a chef, very into high end fine dining as well as unique dining, enjoys the arts (from museums to rock concerts to symphony etc) and has a decent sense of adventure... it would be for him & his wife.
I don't really want to just do a gift cert to a good restaurant b/c I know he will be on a mission to try every highly rated place there while he's there regardless. Also don't want to trap him in to tickets for a certain day/thing but will clear anything w/ his wife before getting it.
Looking for unique things that you can only do there or that are really 'special'. (they've been on a duck boat tour before fwiw haha. I lived there years ago...)
Re: need really good gift idea for my brother in Boston- food, wine, arts?
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I was going to actually suggest Stir too. Barbara Lynch has a newer restaurant called Menton. https://www.mentonboston.com/ It's just about as expensive and up scale as you can get in Boston. That would make for a nice gift for a chef.
Not sure when they will be in the Boston area or if they will have access to a car to travel away about 1.5 hours. Another idea thinking outside of the box would be the Sun Winefest at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut at the end of January. Not a bad drive from Boston at all. I know you said you don't want to really get something with a set date but still thought I'd throw it out there. I have been to it and it's a wonderful time, especially the Celebrity Chef Dine Around event where you get to sample tons of celebrity chef food, wine, beer and liquor samples. The cocktail hour is complimentary Moet champagne, oysters, a giant antipasto spread and passed hors d'oeurves. But usually it requires a hotel room overnight so you don't drive home toasted. https://www.mohegansun.com/sitelet/winefest/
Boston has a similar event locally the week before Mohegan's if that's easier. https://bostonwineexpo2011.eventbrite.com/ Lots of different sessions to attend.
This is a bit north of Boston but looks amazing. You get a private meal for two on top of a lighthouse.
https://www.lighthousepreservation.org/dining.php
Journeyman restaurant in Somerville is AMAZING! They use all natural, local food so the menu changes each week. You can choose how many courses and whether you want the carnivore or veggie options, the rest is up to the chefs. I went and got the five course meal and between that and the extra appetizer we chose it was a four hour meal, totally worth it! They have a website with sample menus and costs. You can also choose to get the wine pairings.
My other thought is something at Gordon's Wine and Liquors, which is in Waltham. They have a nice room off the back in which they have wine classes as well as something they call somelier (sp?) smackdown. A guest chef comes in and makes a three course meal and two rival someliers come in and compete to make the best wine pairings for the food. We've been and it was fabulous.
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